The Lesson of Humanity
by Black Moons Daughter
Summary: After the imprisonment of Loki, both Asgard and Earth are sighing with relief. But he's anything but imprisoned. Instead,he is found by a young woman who decides to help him. And the longer Loki is with her,the more he learns about humans and the feelings he never thought he could feel. As the past comes back, Loki will face the fear of losing something more precious than a throne.
1. Saved or Captured?

The land was hard. Hard and painful. At least he didn't fell face-first on the ground... But again, his back would have been broken, if he wasn't the one he was. He looked to his left and thankfuly found his scepter with the blue ball some inches away from his hand.

Injured, pained, tired and confused, the God of Mischief was covered with scratches, bruises and a deep wound on his stomach, looking slowly around him and trying to figure out where he had landed. His green eyes were barely held open, drifting from one side to another, examining his surrounders.

His gold helmet with the goat horns made it quite difficult to turn his head while he was lying on the ground, but at least it didn't affect his view. It was night, unless the darkness around him was meant to be something else. He noticed he was in an alley, a dim light coming from the far end of the small passage.

The source of that light was a tall metallic column that produced it. He frowned. As long as he could recall his memories, there weren't such things in Asgard or in any other world apart from... Oh please no...

He let out a groan, which was a mix of the pain on his body and the frustation he felt. Midgard once again. Like he hadn't enough problems already! If he was "lucky" enough, he would have landed in New York and the whole S.H.I.E.L.D would be after him in a small matter of time. Perfect.

He stayed there, listening to the fading sounds of cats playing in the rubbish and letting out bitter sounds, as they were fighting each other, probably for a piece of food, thrown away by the humans.

He slowly tried to raise his hand on his wound, with the intension to fill how bad it was. Just when he tried to unglue the shirt from his stomach, the bitterness of the pain his shirt provoke to his injury rushed through his body, making him bit his lip in a try to not yell in pain. Instead of that, he just let out a hiss.

He immediately gave up the try and turned his focus on his scepter. It was so close to his hand that he could grab it with a small shift of his body. He streched out his hand and tried to reach it. He found himself unable to even move his legs, not his whole body!

He gave up after a few seconds. He turned his eyes to the star-filled sky, his breath coming out deep and tired. He knew very well he could not stay like this forever. The Asgard would surely have noticed his escape from the dungeons, or at least was going to in a few hours. He should find a place to hide and recover, become as powerful as he used to be and form a plan. Even though it seemed impossible at that moment...

The sound of movement caught his attention, immediately turning his eyes around him to find the source of it. It sounded like coming from the end of the alley, right in front of him. His position on the ground, lying on his back and unable to turn his head, and of course even more impossible to lift it up, wasn't helping at all.

The same sound came from the other end of the alley, right behind him. It seemed like the sound of a body passing rather quickly, the affection of the cool air being torn in the middle by the object producing the sound.

He looked around again, more rapidly this time trying to figure out whether he was in danger or not. His green eyes turned to the side of his scepter, when he thought that he had heard a small growl. A dog, probably?

His eyes widened when he spotted a pair of gleeming yellow eyes staring angrily at him from a dark shadow, full of wildness and hunger. A flash of white sharp teeth appeared under the two eyes, accompanied with another low growl, this time clearer to his ears.

He made a slow move to try and reach his scepter again, without causing the beast to attack him. He had enough injuries himself and judging by the growing tiredness his body was feeling, the last thing he wanted was to be eaten by a monster like this.

The beast let out another growl and a small yellow paw with sharp red claws appeared from the dark, resting on his scepter like warning him to not even think of trying to take it back for his defension. He got the message and slowly removed his hand back to his side.

A louder growl reached his ears, but to his surprise and slight fear it wasn't coming from the monster to his left. He slowly turned his eyes to glance in front of him, only to see another pair of gleeming eyes, this time flashing a dangerous red color. The eyes were as wel as the others beast accompanied with a line of white sharp teeth, ready to tear the flesh of any living being.

Loki was sure that they were about to attack him, as he could clearly see a sparkle of hunger and death passing through their eyes. But then, he heard a metallic sound coming from the building to his right. It was coming from... above him?!

His gaze rose to look high above him, small sparks catching his eye on the wall. They were shining in the darkness and were slowly gliding on the wall towards the ground, the metallic sound never stopping.

He watched the sparks reaching a small distance from the ground and dissapearing, along with the sound of metal being dragged on the stone wall. And then a pair of soft sparkling chocolate brown eyes staring back at him, a gloved hand with long deadly sharp metal claws being held above his chin and throat.

Loki felt rather tired and exhausted to even blink. He simply stared with confusion at the eyes examining him, feeling more drained in them than worried for his future. His eyelids felt really heavy and he barely could keep them wide open anymore.

"Who are you?" asked a mellodic, smooth voice with a bit of harshness and power in it, coming from the owner of the brown eyes. It sounded feminine, in a way. He couldn't be sure of it, since he had started to feel dizzy and his vision was becoming blurry.

His eyelids started to close and he opened his mouth in an attempt to say something, before it was too late.

"I'm Lo-" his voice caught in his throat, as his head turned to the side of the brown eyed creature, the muscles in his throat giving up. The last thing he managed to see was the pair of eyes above him changing, from the hard, strong glare they were giving him to a look of slight surprise, worry and pure sympathy.

Then, everything around him went black.

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 **This story is set after the imprisonment of Loki during Thor 2: A Dark World. The plot will be changed after that part, there will be no attack from the elves or the Ether in this story, sorry.**

 **Please review! I really want to see what your thoughts are about my first chapter!**


	2. Waking up

Loki's eyelids flutered open and immediately closed again, blinded by the light of the morning sun. He squeezed his eyes into thin lines, trying to get used to the sunshine falling on his eyes from his left side. His body felt really tired and the pain had returned by the time he had woken up, although it was less strong than last night.

While he waited for his eyes to recover from the burn of the sudden view of sunlight, he managed to shift his body and let out a small groan, he had been holding from the day before. He then realized something strange. He wasn't lying on the hard ground anymore, but on something much softer. And his head was resting on an object, even softer than the material beneath him.

He finally felt his eyes open completely and managed to look around in surprise. He wasn't in that alley anymore but in something that looked like a bedroom. The sunlight was filling the room from a glass door, leading to a small balcony made from marble.

Loki let his gaze to fall on the soft place he felt under his body. It was a bed, not too big like the double one he used to have in Asgard, but it was still very comfortable with soft pillows holding up his head. He saw that from his feet up to his waist he was covered with a warm blanket of dark blue color and an also dark blue sheet was resting beneath him, covering the mattress of the bed.

He drove his long fingers on it, feeling the soft material and its smoothness. He gazed around the rest of the room, spotting a small bathroom, a wardrobe and a small desk. On the bedside, there was a small nightstand where, beside the lamp was resting his gold helmet with the goat horns.

Remembering of his uniform, he looked at himself again, finding that his cape was nowhere to be found as well as the metal equipment of his clothes, but his shirt and all the clothes that weren't "heavy" for battle were still on him. Thank Gods.

He frowned a bit, spotting the piece of shirt that was painted red on his stomach area from the blood of his wound. The strange thing was that he didn't feel pain from that area on his body. Curious to learn the reason of this sudden calmness of his body and the relaxation he felt, he raised his hand to lift a bit of his shirt and take a look of his wound himself.

By the time he had took hold of the shirt, he heard a low growl coming from the door to the bedroom. It sounded very familiar for some weird reason... And then it hit him. It was the same growl from last night, when he was lying on the ground with two beasts around him and a pair of brown eyes looking at him.

His eyes sharply turned to the door, immediately widening by the sight before him. Two wolf-sized dogs were growling dangerously at him from the door, their eyes filled with anger and shooting daggers at him.

The first one was red with a long yellow tale, pointed ears, mane and paws. Its eyes were yellow as well, but were a more faded version of it. Its partner had the exact same colors, but in the opposite way. Instead of being red with yellow parts on its body, the other beast had yellow body with red tale, ears, mane and paws. Its eyes were red as well but just like its partner's, they were a faded shade of it.

Careful not to make sharp moves that would cause the beasts to attack, he looked quickly around the room in search of his scepter. His eyes slightly widened when he could find it nowhere in the room. He looked back at the two growling creatures.

They kept staring at him with their deathly eyes, slowly taking a step towards him. After a few seconds they started moving closer to the bed, very slowly like trying to hypnotize him that everything would be alright, even though Loki could almost read in their eyes the intension of killing him. And he couldn't even move to try to get away from them.

The creatures reached the bedside, their teeth seeming sharper from a close view. Their growls became louder and they seemed ready to attack at any moment. Loki just stared at them, wide-eyed but tried not to show them his fear, knowing that it would make things worse for him. He just prepared himself for their attack.

"Batok! Jasira!" The three of them turned their heads towards the door to meet th owner of the voice. In the doorway, Loki faced a tall young woman, around the age of 23, with long wavy raven hair ending in slight curls in the middle of her back. Her skin was a slight peach color, her body dressed in a green tank top with short sleeves, cut in the shoulders so it revealed her collarbone and shoulders, a short red skirt reaching above her knees so it covered only her thighs, gluing on her to show the shape of her curves and hips, and a pair of green high-heeled boots stopping in the middle of her shins.

He took his time to examine her figure better, but noticed out of the corner of his eye the two creatures backing away and dropping their heads down, like regretting for their actions. He raised a curious eyebrow, looking at them before turning to the girl again.

She placed her hands on her hips, her exposed flat belly seeming to show a lot how little she was dressed, her eyes never leaving the two beasts. Her eyes were serious, with a very slight bit of anger and a hidden softness behind them. The two animals looked at her again, making small growls rather more friendly than those they had towards Loki.

"I believe I was clear. Leave him alone." she said, like communicating with them. They just bent their heads down again, their tales slightly dropping between their hind legs. She turned to the side and never taking her eyes from them, pointed at the door.

"Now, get out." she commanded. The creatures obeyed without any other reaction. Once they were out of the room, she turned to Loki and went to sit on a chair on his bedside. "I'm sorry for that. They don't like strangers and they can be a bit overprotecting with me." she said softly, looking right into his green eyes.

Loki would have yelled, laugh, ask why he was there or who she was, anything that would give him the answers he needed. But right now, he didn't care to think of his words before speaking, he just wanted to get rid of those things that had been threatening him from last night. After all, it was really hard to describe the feeling of waking up in an unfamiliar environment and being tortured with the view of two wild animals ready to attack you and tear your flesh!

"What were these mythologically repulsive animals?" he asked, succeeding to keep a calm and collected face.

"Hyenas." she answered, her voice calm and strong, like she was talking about the simplest thing in the world. "The yellow one is Jasira and the red is called Batok."

Loki finally turned his eyes to examine her face. Thin red blood lips, slightly pinkish cheeks... And then he found himself staring into a pair of way too familiar chocolate brown eyes. A flash of the previous night's events passed rapidly through his mind, reality hitting him.

"I'll be back with you in a minute" she said in the same sweet voice Loki could remember, as she exited the room, unaware of the god's mind pulling the pieces of the puzzle into place.

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 **Hope it was good enough for you! Please review, or if you don't want to, then just keep reading! I want to thank Dragoncat for her/his review! I want all of you to know that I'm updating this so quickly because of that first review!**


	3. Erika

The black-haired woman entered her kitchen, eyes and hands moving rapidly as she started filling a large bowl with hot water and pulling out of a drawer some cream, soft towels. As she waited patiently for the water to fill the bowl, she turned to take a small bottle, her mind drifting to the tall man lying on her bed.

From the start, when she had spotted him in that alley, injured and really exhausted, he had caught her interest. She had the feeling that this man was capable of big actions and she knew she should be afraid of him, in a way. But when she had seen him so weak and helpless, fainting in front of her, she let her sympathy to overtake her. Now normaly she wasn't the kind of person that would take in her place any person she met, but she wasn't the one who would leave someone who needed her help either.

To say the truth, from what she had managed to see when she had been removing the heavy clothes from him, he was quite attractive in both his body and face. She was always the person who preferred the lean figure of a guy, still with a bit of muscles here and there but not lots of them. She also liked his face and the long black hair of his. To be honest, she found him rather attractive while he was unconscious. As for now, only time would tell whether his personality was as good as his lookings.

Loki heard the clicking of her heels as she entered the room again, only a minute after she had gone. He noticed the bowl with the steaming water in her hands, as well as the small glass bottle squeezed between her arm and her bare stomach.

He eyed her carefuly as she walked with steady steps towards him, sitting back down on the chair, on the bedside. She placed the objects on the nightstand, beside the gold helmet and turned to face him, speaking softly.

"How do you feel?" she asked in a reassuring voice. Loki looked at her brown eyes, searching deep in her soul for a sign of danger, betrayal, pretence, anything that should concern him. Instead he found bravery, power, a bit of sympathy mixed with some worry and concern. He allowed his eyes to fall on his hand, which he realized was really close to her own, explaining the wave of warmth he had suddenly felt.

"I'm well enough to survive." he answered with a low smooth voice, turning his gaze on her face again. "A few irritated areas here and there, but they're not worthy of concern." he added indifferently, not admitting the small pain rising again on his body.

She didn't take it so loosely though. She took one of the towels she had brought with her and sank it into the hot water, squeezing the water out of it and pouring a small amount of the green liquid in the bottle on it, before starting to lift the sleeve of his shirt up.

Loki went to react when he saw her removing the sleeve, but the way she worked her hands, slowly and almost protectively, relaxed his muscles and he let her to continue. Once the bruises and the few scratches on his arm were revealed to her eyes, he watched as she started to clean them up with the towel, brushing it softly against his skin, keeping a close look at them.

"I'm not surprised. You were injured worse when you were lying in that alley. You have managed to heal yourself impressively quickly." she remarked, never taking her eyes off of her work. Though she did glance at him, when she felt his eyes on her, looking at her with a raised eyebrow of disbelief and confusion. She turned back to her work, casually.

"If I wanted you dead, I would have left you there." she said, answering his silent question. His voice was a mix of slight anger, command and curiousness, low and almost deadly like a hiss. "Then why didn't you let me?"

"Because I'm not a person who turns his back to others when they need him and minds his own business." she almost snapped in a strongly low voice, her eyes turning to face him. Her answer sushed him. He focused instead on his arm, noticing with surprise that whatever she had poured on that towel was healing his injuries in a matter of seconds, not a single mark on his skin, like they had never existed.

She eventually stopped when his arm was healed and took his other hand by the wrist, her grip carefuly soft, focusing on cleaning up a small scratch on the back of his hand. "I made this liquid myself. Your injuries will be healed with great speed." she stated.

"I'm grateful to hear that, though it's unnecessary." he said calmly. He watched with interest as she let the towel rest on his now healed hand and placed the second towel into the hot water. She then looked up at his face.

"I'm going to check on your wound now, so I'll have to remove a bit of your shirt." she said without a bit of shame, waiting for his answer. He kept a calm face as he repeated her words in his mind. It took only a few seconds for him to nod his head to her, as she started to unbutton the lower buttons of his shirt. She only opened the part of the shirt covering his wound, allowing Loki to see why the pain had dissappeared from his stomach. His wound was covered by bandages that clearly had been placed by that woman earlier.

She removed them with quick but careful moves, revealing a deep wound with blood decorating the skin around the injury. She took the towel from the bowl and poured a good amount of the medecine on it, before moving closer to his stomach. "Now this might hurt a bit." she whispered, her eyes glancing at his for a moment. And after she was sure that he was ready, she placed the towel on the wound.

A small burning pain caused Loki to hiss, but he stopped right after he had let out the sound of pain. He looked down at her, seeing the way she jolted the towel away when he had hissed. She placed it softly over the wound again, brushing it against his skin with such care and softness, that he would have thought that she enjoyed taking care of him.

Her other hand went to rest beside his wound, her warm touch relaxing his muscles in a heart beat. She cleared the wound carefuly, managing to not cause him more pain. When she removed the towel and reached for some new bandages, the wound had transformed into a simple scratch. She started wrapping the bandages around it.

"It will be gone in six hours or so. I'll fix the last scratches on you and I'll let you rest." she said, turning to take the other towel from his hand. He titled his head to the side, staring at her face. "Would you like to tell me you name?"

She turned to look at him, obviously being taken aback from the question. She had to blink twice before she decided to answer. "I'm Erika. Erika Colonic" she said, slightly removing a part of his shirt to examine a small scratch on his shoulder.

"That means 'rulling forever" in norse language" he remarked, gaining a glance and a nod from her. She then moved closer to his shoulder, pulling the towel over it. Her breath felt warm and soft against the skin of his shoulder and cheek, his heart beat slightly raising from how close she was, as no other woman apart from his mother had reached so close to him. He forced back a small shiver when he heard her whispering, as to not torture his ears using her normal tone, since she was so close to him. "And what your name was, we said? I'm afraid I missed your name yesterday."

Taking a deep breath to regain his coolness, he made himself relax under the feeling of the warm towel and her fingertips on his shoulder. His answer came in a low voice, just like hers. "I am Loki."

And then the brushing of the towel on his shoulder stopped, but Erika's head didn't turn to his face until a good five seconds of silence had passed.

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 **I would like to say a big 'thank you' to The Arkham Knight for the amazing review and for actually thinking to leave a review! Anyway, enjoy the chapter!**


	4. Wrong moves, I'll kick you out

Erika slowly lifted her head away from his shoulder, turning her eyes to look calmly at his face. She stared at him for a few seconds, trying to understand whether he was lying to her or not. She let a small frown to decorate her face. "Loki... the God of Mischief? From Asgard?"

Her question and clear disbelief made Loki to smile, showing her his white teeth. It was really amusing to see the curiousness in her face and hearing the disbelief in her tone. He had expected her to not react at all, as those mortal friends of his brother had when he had banished on the Midgard, since it seemed like humans weren't aware of his existance. Erika, though, had instantly recognised him. "I guess, you have read about me in some of the books, you mortals have."

Erika seemed to get out of the slight shock, blinking twice and taking in his appearance, before turning her gaze to his shoulder, checking one last time and covering his bare pale flesh with his shirt. "Your guess is right." she said, her eyes drifting for a moment to his helmet on the nightstand. "That explains the helmet."

Loki turned his head to look at it, a grin spreading on his face, as he nodded in agreement. His attention turned back to Erika, seeing her moving closer to his face and holding the towel on her right hand. His confusion lasted only a mere second as he felt a tiny pain on his lower lip. He just realized that he had one more small scratch on his bottom lip. He knew what was about to come.

Erika's heart bounced a bit quicker in her chest, as she placed her face close to Loki's and looked straight at his bottom lip, trying to not make things more awkward by looking in his eyes. Her fingertips on her free hand rose to touch his cheek, softly keeping him in place. The cool of his skin passed through her fingers, giving her a chilling wave, even though the heat of her chest was clear to her.

Loki froze in place by the time her fingers touched his cheek and the towel started brushing his lip with such softness he could never imagine. His heart started bouncing a bit more when her black, smooth hair fell on the sides of her face like trapping both their faces close to each other. He locked his eyes on hers, while she kept her attention on his lip, examining her beautiful brown eyes and relaxing by the feeling of her warm breath against his skin. And then, she raised her eyes to his own, stopping the brushing. His green eyes were gleaming in her own, examining her soul. They were amazingly beautiful, the eyes of a real god. Who could guess that they belonged to the god of mischief...

Erika realized their situation and forced back a small blush, moving away from him and back to her seat next to the bed. She quickly turned her eyes away from him, gathering the stuff she had just used on him and prepared to get up. She glanced at him one more time. "I leave you to rest, take a shower if you want. In the bathroom is everything you might need." she said, standing up and walking towards the door. "You're free to stay as long as you want, but I'll make this clear to you: if I see that you have to leave or you do something unpleasant, I'll kick you out myself." she said, her tone a bit more straight and powerful.

It caused Loki to give a sideways smile. He found rather interesting the way she could be calm and soft and turn into a serious and strong person when needed. He kept listening with interest at her speech. "I'm going to buy you some clothes, so you won't be too noticeable between other people... That scepter you had is in the closet. Come for breakfast when you feel ready." she said, ready to close his door.

"Erika..." he said, stopping her in her tracks. His smooth silky voice saying her name sent a shiver through her veins, and she tried to ignore the unusual feeling as she turned to look at him, the handdle in her hand. Loki kept a calm face, not allowing himself to grin or show any kind of emotion. He wasn't used to do something like this, so he considered the emotionless face necessary. "I want to say... thank you. For this." he said, motioning around the room.

Erika grinned softly at him, making a little bow with her head before turning and leaving the room, closing the door behind her. The room fell in silence once she was gone, giving Loki the chance to take in more of this new environment, his body slowly relaxing as the pain disappeared.

He looked down at his bandaged area, a sideways grin appearing on his face as he thought back at how much care Erika had offered to him. His one hand moved instictively on his face, his index finger moving with its own mind to touch his bottom lip, where the scratch had once been. He blinked quite some time, shaking away these thoughts. They were of no concern right now.

He slowly got off of the comfort of the bed, not surprised to notice that his body was acting normally like he had never been injured, and moved to the closet, his breath stopping for a few seconds before he opened the door to the closet.

He immediately saw the familiar blue glow of his scepter, deep inside the coset. He took it in his hands and examined it. No trace of dust or dirt from the alley he had fallen in, probably Erika had bothered herself to clean it up. The fact that he hadn't thought of this powerful weapon of his earlier, really surprised him.

His eyes fell on his shirt, resting almost disgustingly on the dried blood. Right now, the shower sounded truly needed to relax and forget a bit of the previous night. He let his scepter on the bed and got off of his clothes, stepping inside the bathroom and closing the door behind him.

His eyes turned to the mirror, looking at his reflection. The healing had made quite a good job, his figure looked the same as when he was in Asgard. In a combination with his own rapid healing, the only thing that reminded him of his escape from the dungeons was the scratch on his stomach, which now had turned into a scar, his body still healing.

He let out a small breath before steping in the shower and letting the warm water to relax his nerves. The plan was simply formed into his mind. Stay here and use the place like a hideout, plot his strategy for attack on the Avengers under Erika's nose and when everything is done, leave the place and go to find allies to help him take Asgard.

He stayed more under the water, rethinking his plan in his head, forming some details. For one moment, he thought he heard music out of his room, but choose to ignore it. He just hoped that Erika wouldn't be an obstacle to his plan.

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 **Ok, that's for now guys! I love the fact that my story goes so well cause of you, but if it's not too much to ask, please review so I know that you keep reading this thing. Anyway, I was really shocked when I saw that this story goes so well, and the other one I'm writting is still in the depths of... something. Oh well, I'm not going to cry for this! I hope... XD**


	5. Weird breakfast and old enemies

Erika entered the kitchen once again, taking care of the objects she had used for Loki. Once done, she started making pancakes and setting the table, this time being one of the rare cases she would be setting two plates instead of one. She wasn't quite excited about having a total stranger in her house for God knows how long, but she couldn't deny that it would be nice to have someone to talk to in a daily base either. It had been quite a while since the last time she actually had a visitor.

As she was making another pancake to add on the already big tower of pancakes beside her, her mind slipped back to the God of Mischief in her bedroom. She had to admit that he was really handsome, his face and lean body not escaping her notice in the first place. She always had a preference to tall, dark and charming guys. That was probably the reason she hadn't had more than three relationships in her life since she was 18.

Erika finished with the making of breakfast and turned on the music of the radio, moving towards his door to inform him, a towel in her hand, just in case he wanted to have a shower. Besides she was the one who had suggested it to him. She stopped in front of the closed door, a sound like rain reaching her ears. She frowned and pressed her ear on the door, trying to hear better. She heard nothing though.

Erika's hand rose up and she knocked on his door lightly. "Loki, breakfast is ready! Can I enter for a minute?" she asked, waiting for his answer. It never came though. She slowly took hold of the doorknob and turned it, opening the door and slowly entering. She cocked an eyebrow at the empty room. "Where did he-"

"Don't you mortals knock?" she span around, only for her eyes to wide. In front of her, merely some inches taller than her, was standing a bare-chessed Loki with a towel wrapped around his waist, his skin wet and heat coming out from the hot shower he had had. He was looking at her with a raised eyebrow but his face was remarkably calm.

Erika turned her back on him quickly, not wanting to make the situation even more uncomfortable for the both of them, her face turning a slight pinkish color from embarrassment, her mind bringing up the image of Loki's bare chest making her a bit angry with herself. "I'm sorry, I did knock on the door, but apparently you didn't listen so it's not only my fault!" she snapped.

Loki frowned, staring at her back. "What was the purpose of your sudden appearance in here, you said?" Erika remembered the towel she was still holding in her hand and she stretched it out towards him, wihout turning to face him. "I simply wanted to inform you that breakfast is ready and give you this towel in case you wanted to have a shower. Apparently, you were faster than I thought." she said with a bit of sarcasm in her voice.

Loki chuckled a bit darkly and took the towel from her hand. "I will be with you in a minute." he said, still looking at her back. Erika turned and walked out of the room, avoiding to look at him again. Once out of the room, she shook her head violently, unable to believe how awkward the previous moment was.

She took in a deep breath and walked back into the kitchen, preparing the meal of her hyenas. She wasn't going to be so free around Loki again. After all, he was the God of Mischief and Lies. He could do anything to her if she let her guard fall. No, better be prepared and serious instead of free and harmed.

Erika was interrupted from her thoughts by the sound of footsteps entering the kitchen. She only turned her head to see Loki approaching the table, dressed in more casual clothes, but still he was a bit different from the other men she had met (Loki is wearing the same clothes when he was imprisoned in Asgard).

Loki looked at the pancakes with a curious expression. "I would be pleased if you could tell me what this food is." he said to her. Erika turned to face him, raising an eyebrow, confused. "Pancakes. I suppose that you don't have these in Asgard, since you're asking right?" she said, placing the dishes of her pets on the floor.

"No, we don't." he admitted, taking a seat when Erika gestured him to do so. She sat across from him and served both of them some pancakes and orange juice. Her hyenas entered the kitchen as well, having smelled the aroma of their breakfast. The red one went to Loki's foot, smelling him carefuly and making a low bark.

"Batok let him be. He's going to stay with us for a while, so I want both of you to behave." Erika said, shooing Batok away, before turning her attention back to her plate. Loki had stopped eating by the time he felt the creature's nose against his boot. Instead of eating, he was staring at the two hyenas eating their food.

"You have quite strange animals to be your company." he admitted, turning his eyes on Erika. She looked at him for a moment, before letting her fork to the side. "Yeah, everybody says that. But I prefer hyenas than dogs. They are very smart and their attacks are as sneeky as possible." she gestured towards the two animals, "The red one with the yellow mane is Batok and the other is Jasira. I found them in a forest some years ago and took them in." she finished.

Loki glanced one more time at the beasts and turned his attention back to his food. "So, how did you ended up in that alley, if you don't mind my asking?" he looked back up at the sound of Erika's voice. He wasn't quite willing to talk about his situation with a weak mortal, but the way she was looking at him with patience and interest made him think otherwise. Besides, what did he had to risk?

"I had to escape from my prison in Asgard. It was more difficult task than I thought." he said, not giving her much information. Erika was curious to learn why he was imprisoned, but decided not to ask something so personal. Instead, she would like to know something else.

"It must have been tough for you. To be imprisoned by your own father-"

"HE'S NOT MY FATHER!" Loki yelled, standing abruptly off of his chair and hitting his palms on the table. However, he was taken aback by Erika's reaction. She had stood up right after the first word escaped his lips and had pulled in a pair of black gloves, in lightning speed, and she had taken a fighting position, her right hand streched out close to his throat, long metal claws appearing at the tips of her fingers. Even her hyenas had positioned themselves for a fight.

His shock lasted only a moment, before a smile appeared on his face along with a chuckle. "So that's what produced the metallic sound last night. A deadly weapon, attached to the hands for easier use. I'm impressed." he said, holding up his hands in surrounder.

Erika slowly took away her claws and took off the gloves, dismissing her hyenas. She looked at him with the same strong expression she previously had. "What was that outburst of yours?" she asked, her voice telling him that she was slowly relaxing again.

Loki scoffed a bit before answering. "My familly situation is something I would like not to disguss." he said sternly. She slightly nodded in understandment and walked around the table to stand right in front of him, her face really close to his. "I accept that you might have some familly issues and if you don't want to express them is fine by me. But I warn you, if I sense that you're a danger for me, I will slash your throat without a second thought. You dig?"

Loki grinned at her form. His stay there would be interesting and this woman a challenge that he would gladly accept.

 _Somewhere else..._

"You didn't find it, yet you're standing before me." The enormous dark figure shivered under its ruler's menacing tone. Its head bowed even more, its nose almost touching the ground from its kneeling position. It gulped hard.

"We keep searching for it, sir. Our research showed that it's on Midgard, but we can't find its position yet. The radiating power of it is too weak to show us the exact location." it said with trembling voice.

"Then search again! I want the power to complete my ultimate weapon against Asgard. Go and don't come back till you have found it!" The ruler turned to the side of its throne, looking at a glass box, in which a blue and red smoke was moving in.

"Don't worry my enemies. With the power of your loved one, I will unlock the dark side of your power and rule in Asgard forever."

* * *

 **Finally! I thought I was never going to finish this one! Now tell me this: What must I do to take a review? Huh? Come on guys, how am I supposed to know that people are still reading this, when I have no one's opinion about my chapters? Anyway, you decide whether you'll review or not.**


	6. A call

_In another planet_

"How is it possible that he escaped from the dungeons?!" Odin hadn't been so angry in a long time and this dangerous outburst made uncomfortable both the guards and Thor. The king was passing back and forth in front of his throne, hands clasped behind his back, barely holding himself from greeting his teeth.

"Father, you know very well that Loki could never escape from the dungeons alone. It might be impossible, but maybe he had help, from one of the guards possibly." Thor said, trying to find a solution to the mystery of Loki's escape. He had just learnt about his brother's disappearance and it didn't make sense to him either.

"It doesn't matter anymore." Odin turned to face his son, his voice lower but still deadly serious. "With Loki out of his prison and free in the Nine Realms, we can't waste time searching the reason of his escape. We must find him and capture him once again, before he does anything worse than his previous actions."

Thor nodded his head to the All Father. "I believe it's more possible for him to be on Earth, than in any other planet. I'll inform the Avengers to start searching for any signs of him, while I will visit each Realm myself."

Odin looked at Thor, his mind searching a better way of action. "What does Heimdal say about all these?" Thor shook his head slightly, staring at the floor. The situation was worse than they had thought it would be. "He's trying to see him, but he says that wherever he is right now, he is really close to an enormous magical power, that prevents his vision. Till now, Loki is invisible to Heimdal."

Odin's grip on his scepter tightened at the mention of a 'magical power'. If Loki was so close to something so powerful, he wouldn't lose the chance to use it for his own dark purposes. "We have to find him quickly. Before he is able to take control of something that we don't even know. Even right now, we might be in danger."

* * *

"Can someone explain me why I have to see the faces who scream 'Hero' from miles away, for one more time in three years?" Everyone's head turned to see Tony Stark entering the main room of the flying ship, with a not so pleased expression on his face.

"It's not so nice to see you too Stark." answered Steve, his arms crossed as he looked at the approaching Iron Man from across the table. Almost every member of the Avengers was there. Barton, Banner, Steve, Natasha... Fury was looking at the control panel, he didn't turn to face Tony when he entered. Only Thor was absent.

"We had a call from Thor." Fury said, finally turning to all the heros. The Avengers looked at him with surprise, their expressions slowly changing at the realization that something was wrong. They sat up a bit, streghtening on their chairs, as the thing suddenly became serious. Only Tony didn't fall for that.

"How was he able to contact us from another planet? Did any of you guys gave him a cell-phone like a souvenir from Earth, because I didn't." Hill walked through the door and walked over to Fury, passing him a yellow folder and turning to Tony. "We don't know how he did it, but his face just appeared in our screens and after he just disappeared. Like a flashlight."

"Great, now he does tricks as well? Is this going to become more complicated than it already is, because my mind has its limits you know." Steve just rolled his eyes, deciding to ignore Tony's comments before he did something to close the Iron Man's mouth.

"Just shut up Stark." Natasha interrupted, leaning on the table to look at Fury. "What's wrong Director?"

Fury took a small breath, before letting the bomb to fall. "Loki has escaped from Asgard."

Silence. Followed by wide looks. And then, Tony's voice again. "Oh man, not again!"

* * *

Erika changed the position of her legs on the couch for what might have been the third time in half an hour. She stared at the screen of her laptop, fixing some tiny problemes, the programm of a company had presented. Being a programmer wasn't the best job on the planet, but she had chosen it because she could spend a long time in front of her laptop screen, experimenting with her hacking skills. She could enter into the system of every top secret association, hack it and learn all its secrets. It was so easy to her like playing a videogame. And her not- so- interesting job permitted her to work from home, where she wouldn't come face to face with some unpleasant coworkers. One, to be specific.

She raised her eyes from the screen and looked across from her, to the opposite couch, where Loki was reading a book she had given him with concentration. He was quite a quick reader, turning the pages in less than two minutes each time. Something about him, his name actually, seemed very familiar to her. But she couldn't remember why.

She tapped a research on her laptop, including his name of course, and waited for the results. Most of them were about the myths and the bedtime stories. Nothing really important about this gu- What the hell was that?

A reportage in New York, Manhattan, caught her eye just in time when she was about to give up her research. 'Norse God Loki And Aliens Attack New York' was the title. Erika curiously clicked on it and started reading each detail. She glanced one more time at Loki, he was unaware of her eyes on him.

Erika closed the website and opened a new one, but her mind wasn't focused on what she wanted to search. Could it be him, the same Loki, who had attacked New York almost three years ago with an army of aliens? The website had no pictures or photos of Loki in it, only some videos with the disaster and the aliens flying around the city and destroying everything. So could it be him? It wasn't impossible...

Driiiiin drin driiiiin drin...

The sound of her phone operator snapped her out of her thoughts and almost served her a heart attack. Loki raised his eyes from the book and looked first at the phone and then at her. She raised a hand and rubbed her temple, before placing her laptop on the small table in front of the couch and pushing a button on the phone, turning it to open hearing.

" _Heeeey Erika! How're you doing girl?!"_ a cheerful female voice answered from the other line of the phone, Erika rolling her eyes but putting on a small grin.

"Well what a surprise. It's Jena. Again. Were you dreaming of me, to call me at this time of the day?" she said, her slight sarcasm ending in a tone that showed her smile. Jena giggled.

" _Always sarcastic and happy to hear my voice, right Erika?"_ she said, earning a small chuckle from Erika. " _Anyway, I called you because I have some mews for you... And Bradon wants your advice._ "

Erika frowned. "What kind of advice?" The voice in the phone changed to a male one, Jena's boyfriend.

" _I was actually hopping that you would help me give some advice to a friend of mine. He had a fight with his girlfriend about a past relationship of his, and he wrote a CD with songs for her to forgive him._ " he said, sounding really skeptical, like he was trying to solve a math problem.

"That's very nice of him. And what's the problem with it?" she said with a small smile and a cocked eyebrow.

" _Well, he doesn't know what to write on its label. I think he should write 'I don't know any Edna' , that's the name of his ex-girlfriend."_

Erika's face dropped into a bored one. "From one to ten, how big your stupidity can possibly be?"

Loki hold himself at the last moment from chuckling at the mortal's comment. He had been listening to her conversation with her friends, whether he wanted it or not, trying at the same time to read his book. She had a fire inside her, he would give her that.

" _Oh come on woman, I have to tell him something!_ " he sounded almost pleading. Erika sighed with a small smile, rubbing her temple.

"Alright, I'll see what I can do... And what the news were about, you said?" A short silence fell from the other line of the phone, before Jena spoke again, only this time she was almost whispering with unease and nervousness.

" _Well, it's about the Night Soldiers..._ " At the mention of the name, Erika's smile faded and her fists clenched, her actions very clear to the god opposite of her.

 _"Me and Bradon had an unpleasant meet with them."_

* * *

 **So, this is it! Now for you guys, I have an announcement. From now on, the next chapters will be updated faster when I have a few reviews from you for the last chapter of mine, so I will be able to see who are still reading this thing. If I don't get reviews, I'll be waiting for at least one of them. This is considered also for my other romantic Loki/OC story, 'Dark songs' but seeing that this story has no reviews from followers or anyone else apart from guests, it's almost sure that it's going to be forgotten... X(**


	7. I want to kill him

"What do you mean you had an 'unpleasant meet' with them?" Erika asked, her eyebrows frowning. Jena's voice sounded really uncomfortable now, and she was at a loss of words.

 _"Well...um...we had gone out for a drink in a new place, and uhh... we happened to see some of them. We tried to follow them, since we knew that you would kill to learn where they are hanging around, but we didn't had the chance to follow them much..."_

Erika quickly grabbed her laptop and prepared a research. "What was the name of the place?" she asked, her voice demanding and strong.

 _"Uhh, The Black Horse, I think. Somewhere outside the center... Look Erika, to be honest with you, I don't think that it's such a good idea to search for them..."_

Erika didn't turn to look at the phone. Her eyes were glued on her screen and her fingers were tapping so quickly on the keyboard, that Loki hardly believed the fact that they hadn't catch up fire. "You didn't think of it as such from the beginning, but you agreed to help in the end."

 _"I know, but this is getting out of control girl! These guys are dangerous, they have power and you are just a woman! What makes you think that you have any hope?"_ Jena had started to panic, the words coming out of her mouth rapidly and her voice rising, only a bit but still it was loud.

"You know why I'm doing all this, don't you?" Erika snapped at her, turning her attention on the phone. It wasn't secret that she had started to get angry with Jena and her protests. A long silence followed after Erika's words, Loki's eyes drifting from the woman to the phone and again the same. He had lost interest for his book right now.

 _"Yes."_ Jena answered, her voice low and almost regretting. _"But they tried to kill both me and Bradon when they discovered us! I'm only telling you this because I'm worried about you."_

Erika fell silent. Her eyes stared at the floor for some moments, thinking over Jena's words. She wasn't going to give up all this try, not now that she was so close. Not after what they had done to her... But Jena was her friend, maybe the only friend she now had. She loved her and she would never do anything that would put her friend in danger. She shouldn't have involved her in this in the first place. But maybe there was a way to end this, to win Jena's safety.

"What I'm going to do is my decision and as much as I appreciate that you want me to be safe, I can't drop things now. You agreed to help me in the first place, but if you believe that it's too dangerous for you and Bradon, then close the phone and forget all about this. I will completely understand."

Again silence. This conversation seemed to be the longest Erika had ever had and with the longest breaks of silence ever. Maybe someone should write this down as a record or something. From the other line of the phone was heard a deep sigh, probably Jena's.

 _"I'm sorry Erika. Be careful and please, don't die."_ she said in a low voice and right after that, the sound of beep's started to play, a sign that Jena had hung up. She stared at the phone for a few seconds, breathing quietly, slowly. She moved her hand and pressed the button on the phone, turning it off.

Loki watched Erika, with his eyes being the only thing moving on him, turning her eyes away from the phone to the floor again, having forgotten everything about the laptop resting on her lap. She moved her hand to her eyes, rubbing them slightly while letting out a small, tired sigh.

And then her eyes shot up to him. For a brief moment they locked eyes with each other, Loki observing the chocolate brown eyes with rising interest and curiosity and Erika feeling the piercing green eyes diving into the windows to her soul, searching for her darkest secrets.

"Do you want any coffee?" she said, breaking their gazes and walking towards the kitchen. Loki's eyes followed her figure, burning her from behind. She was trying to avoid his gaze and possible questions he might had to ask her, and he knew it. But she wasn't going to get away with it so easily. Not from him.

"Why wouldn't you listen to your friend?" he asked calmly, as casually as he would speak about a celebration in Asgard. Erika stopped dead in her tracks, just before she entered the kitchen, her hand on the kitchen door. Her eyes rested on the door, waiting for something. Loki gave her that 'something'. "Because her way of speaking revealed an anxiety that can be provoked only by a dangerous reason."

Erika's eyes dropped on the floor, considering Loki's curiosity. Damn, she was a complete fool to have the slightest hope that he would keep his questions to himself. She knew, she shouldn't trust him her relationships with the Night Soldiers, he was the God of Mischief and Lies after all! But again, what did she have to lose? She sighed against the kitchen door and slowly returned to her previous seat on the couch opposite of Loki.

His eyes followed her back to her seat. He placed the forgotten book, he had been reading long ago, on the small table and joined his palms together, waiting for her to speak. Erika rested her elbows on her knees, hugging her arms, slightly leaning forward. Her eyes rose up to look at him.

"The Night Soldiers are... a secret organisation. Something like mafia, but less murdering. They have a long list of clubs and sex shops under their commands and an even longer list of customers." Erika titled her head to the side and shrugged. "At least that's how they want to look like. Behind this mask of them, they're busying themselves with 'night girls', illegal alcohol and drugs. Maybe a smaller amount of it, but still. Law's actions are as rare as an eclipse during daylight. Each member of the Night Soldiers has a tattoo on their upper arm, the shape of two swords, joined at the edges. And you bet there are too many of them."

Loki had been listening with interest, never taking his eyes from her, or thinking of changing his position on the couch. His mind drifted back, when he had come to Midgard to rule the human population. He was more than right when he had said to Thor about how marvelous job he was making, keeping humans under his protection. Erika herself was confirming it right now to him. Although his interest had rose even more, he was a bit disappointed. He had hoped for some more personal informations.

He slowly leaned forward, looking straight into Erika's face across the table. He observed her darkened face, when it had turned like this from the moment she had said their title. "And what do they have to do with you? Or should I ask, what do you have to do with them?" he whispered, his smooth British voice almost hypnotizing her.

Erika's breath caught in her throat. His face, his eyes, his voice, everything on him seemed to make her actually want to speak her heart out to him. He had made her to hold her breath and she was almost unable to speak. But it wasn't only him, who made her stop breathing. It was also the information he was asking to learn.

She took in a deep breath and looked down. Loki saw that the grip she had on her arms tightened only a bit before she spoke again, in a lower voice. "I want to pay their leader with the same way he destroyed my life." Loki titled his head, pushing her to go on.

"I want to kill him."

* * *

 **I want to say a big 'thank you' to Dragonat for giving me the amazing reviews and I inform you all, I still ask for your reviews! Really now, write me anything! Even a word would be great! It doesn't have to be something good, you can write me a complaint you might have. For example, Loki's behavior. If I'm out of his real personality. Anything! *growls* Okay, alright. I feel better now. I'm okay...**

 **Next chapter might leave more questions to you, but it'll consider a different subject from this one. Don't let yourselves be fooled. Erika isn't the nice looking woman she seems to be! Or maybe, she's not only that.**


	8. A story is revealed

_In SHIELD's quarters_

"So, back to the team work. Yay." Tony was pressing boringly the screen of the information tablet, examining every detail of the research's results he was finding. He was doing exactly the last thing he had wanted to do. Sit in SHIELD's lab, with unlimited little electronic games, searching for, guess who, the same psichopath god from almost three years ago.

"Well, at least it doesn't seem to be so bad this time." Banner murmured, standing in front of another screen and searching for gamma radiation. Tony frowned, turning to the busy doctor. "How does it seem to be less bad? The two cases have quite the similarities. 1. The same crazy, tricky god as before, 2. He is on Earth, 3. The whole Avengers team is here. I think it's the same bad case, replaying in front of us."

Banner just shrugged, not turning to look at Iron Man. "He hasn't the Tesseract, as Thor said. That's something different." Tony rolled his eyes, moving to the other side of Banner's screen and joining him to the research. "You might be the only person in this flying boat that thinks so positive doc." he said, not bothering to look at him.

Banner kept working as well. "Then it's good that there's actually someone who thinks positively about-" Banner was interrupted by the sound of the radar, beeping like crazy out of nowhere. Banner frowned, confused and surprised at the same time, as the screen showed an earth map, on which millions of blue lights were shining, spreading on the whole planet.

Tony moved quickly to the doctors side, the same frown on his face. These lights were radiation gamma, coming in small amounts from all over the world. It was like the Tesseract had been torn into tiny pieces and spread all over the planet, on every country, city and house.

The two men exchanged a confused look, gluing their eyes on the screen afterwards. This was wrong. Terribly wrong. Or just enormously dangerous. Either way. It was bad. As expected, Tony expressed what was in both men's head.

"What the hell?"

* * *

Her voice was so remarkably calm, that Loki thought for a bare moment, that she didn't know what the meaning of the word 'kill' is. But the deep seriousness in her eyes told him, that not only she had full knowledge of what she had just said, but she also seemed to have experienced this kind of situation. And it didn't seem good.

Loki stared at her straight face, examining her in an attempt to figure out the whole story himself. "What has he done to you, so he deserves the death as punishment?" he whispered, his smooth voice diving into her and washing away the voices that told her to not give him access to her past.

Erika took in a deep breath, allowing her eyes to fall on her hands, as she started playing with her fingers. She could feel Loki observing every move of hers closely, and for some weird reason, she found herself grateful for his interest. "George Geller, the leader of the Night Soldiers, loves his job. He puts all his efforts to his 'company', like it's his only child. If anyone becomes an obstacle to his work, they must abandon any hope for the future. When my father was doing paperwork in the police station, he came across some forgotten files about the Night Soldiers. Stubbron as he was, he got too much involved in this case. He was so persistent that he almost blew the lid off of them. Almost."

She paused for a moment to glance out of the window to her left, not letting herself to show Loki her sadness. Although he did. He was such an observant person that he saw her sad eyes, the gulp she made and her frozen fingers. Her hyenas noticed her reaction too, as they left the corner they were resting at, to come and sit by her feet, pushing her leg with their noses and making small sounds like crying. Obviously trying to comfort her.

Erika petted them with a small, yet sad smile, before she turned her attention back to Loki. "I wasn't too young. I had actually just turned eighteen and I was looking for both a job and an appartement. I was still living with my parents. One night, around midnight, there was a sound coming from the door. But it wasn't a knock. It was more like someone was trying to break down the door. Both my parents went to check it. And when they saw, it was the Night Soldiers, it was too late to react."

Her hands turned into fists and they started trembling, her face so still you could see that she was greeting her teeth. Loki noticed out of the corner of his eyes, the two hyenas backing away slowly, their tales under their hind legs and their ears dropping down. They were actually afraid of that woman, when they hadn't been afraid of him.

In a matter of seconds, Erika relaxed again. Her muscles disappeared under her skin, her face softened. She took another long breath, her hyenas crawling back under her feet. "They were shot in the chest. And the Night Soldiers were gone. Geller didn't bother to search the house, to find me hiding behind a table. I had seen everything."

Erika looked at his face. He was perfectly still, listening carefully to everything she had just told him. She couldn't understand why she had spoken to him about her past. He was a complete stranger to her after all! But even though he wasn't showing it, she could see a glint of comfort and kindness in his eyes. He was actually sorry about what had happened to her. And that made her not regreting about talking to him. She felt better, to be honest.

Erika sighed, her tone a bit lighter than before, in an attempt to wash away any kind of awkwardness in the air around them. "Anyway, that's it. After that, since today, I'm in that hunt game. And I really hate how good they are at escaping from me. But either way, I'm not going to stop. Even though it means I might lose my friends."

Loki leaned back onto the couch, turning his look away from her. He thought her story all over again in his head, while staring out of the window. For someone who had seen their own parents die, she looked quite normal and strange at the same time. And 'hunting' such dangerous people, would make you think that she would be at least a bit more careful with strangers. Not taking them in her house, healing them, allowing them to stay in her home _and_ trusting them her past. But yet, she had treated him with kindness and generosity.

If it were for anyone else, Loki would have considered them a fool and would have laughed at their innocence. But Erika was somehow a different case. When he had first locked eyes with her, he had seen no innocence. She must had lost it that night. What he saw was something stranger. Something that mortals didn't seem to have, something that gave him the sensation that she might be able to understand him better than Frigga herself.

"I'm going to make some cupcakes. I suddenly felt a need for sugar. You want some?" Loki turned his head towards the kitchen door, were Erika was standing. She must had gotten off the couch, while he was thinking. He wasn't aware of what 'cupcakes' were, so he decided to reject the offer. "I prefer not."

"You should try it." she insisted, obviously understanding that cupcakes weren't very popular in Asgard.

Loki thought over it for a few moments. "I'd rather not."

Erika rolled her eyes, a playfull smirk on her lips. "I won't poison them."

He smirked back. "I can't be poisoned either way."

Erika gave a big grin, before disappearing into the kitchen. If she had eyes on the back of her head, she would have seen the slightly surprised expression in Loki's face. That was the first time he had seen her grin. Like that. So freely, without pretence or force. And the picture of her, grinning like this was...actually pretty.

* * *

 **I want to thank the ones who have been reviewing and the new member who reviewed my last update. They know who they are. Now, I have to tell you that I'm going on a trip on a mountain this week, without Internet I'm afraid, and I'll be back the next Tuesday. Till then, the story will be on hold. But, I don't want anyone to be worried, I'll try to update as soon as I can once I'm back.**


	9. Smiles and problems

Erika took the last bite from her chocolate cupcake, letting the now empty plate on the table in front of the couch. Her eyes were once again glued to the screen of her computer. That programm was giving her quite the trouble. She decided to quit it for now, starting to play a game in Friv.

She glanced sideways towards Loki. He had returned to his book, the cupcake she had previously offered him resting inside the plate in front of him. She returned to her game. He was the one losing if he wouldn't taste it, not her. She felt her boot being pulled and she turned to look at it.

She gave a small laugh at the sight of Batok pulling her boot with his teeth and groaning. "What is it, my boy?" she asked him. Batok released her boot and turned his head to the other side of the living room, where the fireplace was, beside the kitchen door. Erika looked where Batok's eyes were glued, seeing Jasira on her hind legs, trying to climb on the fireplace.

Erika looked up on the fireplace, where a clock was resting. 8:30. Wait, 8:30 ?! "Damn, I have to go to the office!" She jumped off of the couch and run into another room, shutting the door behind her with a thud.

Loki glanced to the door, raising an eyebrow. She was working? A woman was actually working? Apparently Midgard had a lot more differences with Asgard than he had thought the last time he was here. In Asgard, women were staying at home while the men would head to work.

He glanced down to the table in front of his feet, were the cupcake she had offered him was resting. It looked like some kind of desert, although he had never seen something like this before. So it was considered to be food. And with sugar. He shook his head. The view of that candy was giving him the idea of a sweet death. Why would Midgardians like it so much?

Some moments later, Erika returned into the living room. Her green tank top and boots were replaced by black ones and her ears were decorated with two gold round earrings. She grabbed her keys from the fireplace and her laptop from the table.

"Where's my bag?" A bark made her turn around, to see both her hyenas carrying her black bag in their mouths. She sighed with a small smile and took her bag from them, placing her laptop and keys in it. "Thank you guys, you're so precious to me." she said, giving them a small pet on the head. The hyenas shook their tales happily and licked her fingers.

"Hey Loki, are you coming?" Loki raised his head from the book and looked at her with a confused expression.

"Coming where exactly?"

"To my office with me. No offence but I don't trust you to stay all alone in my house." she responded like it was a fact.

Loki sighed. Of course she wasn't so foolish to leave him out of her sight.

"I don't think that it'll be a wise choice to walk around like this." he said, motioning to his clothes. Of course he didn't want to be recognised and then have the Avengers behind him, after his last visit to Midgard.

"Oh." Erika's eyes drifted to his clothing, obviously thinking. "You have some magic in you, right? Can't you transform or something?"

Loki grinned. A green light surrended him for a bare moment, before his clothes changed into a black suit with a green tie. Erika's brows shot up in surprise. "Nice... But what about your face?"

Loki stood up and went in front of the full body mirror beside the exit door. He looked at himself and grinned. "I believe I'm good enough."

Erika glanced at the mirror and gave a low gasp. Instead of his normal face and long black hair, there was a young pinkish skinned man with short brown hair and blue eyes. "Wow." She turned to look at the original Loki, her expression filled with surprise. "You're good."

Loki smiled. "Thank you for pointing out the obvious."

Her face turned sarcastic, having realized that she had said her thought out loud to him. "Well, careful. Don't get too proud with yourself."

Loki scoffed. The moment of admiration from her was officialy lost. He didn't spare another look at her as he walked out of the door. Erika turned to close the door behind her, her eyes drifting to the table of the living room. Her eyes fell on Loki's cupcake.

It was half-eaten. A smile crossed her face, watching out of the corner of her eyes Loki waiting for her beside the car, looking in the space. She glanced one more time at the cupcake before closing the door.

* * *

"What do you mean, 'Loki has more than a million twins' ?" Steve seemed to be the most confused person in the room, probably because he could never understand Tony's way of speaking. But to be honest, he wasn't the only one confused about what they were informed about.

"I mean, Mr. Popsicle, that Loki has somehow managed to discover the clone machine and create real copies of himself on the whole planet!" Tony opened his arms to show the seriousness of the situation, though no one really understood him.

"I could use some clear information in this Stark." Fury spoke for the first time since the whole Avenger team had gathered in the room. Bruce took a few steps forward, holding a remote control in hand and pressing a red button on it. A wide screen appeared from the ceiling and images flashed before everyone's eyes.

"To explain Stark's words, we were trying to locate Loki by searching the gamma radiation coming from his scepter. The amount of the radiation isn't big enough to cause too much trouble, but it would be better off of his hands. At some point, the radar found this radiation, but before it was able to locate it, the radiation marks had spread through the entire planet."

The images were flashing rapidly, when the screen stopped to the image of small blue lights covering the whole planet, making it look like a Christmas tree. The team stared at the picture, both confusion and anxiety filling the air.

"You're telling us that Loki is, where the gamma radiation is?" asked Natasha, her voice covering perfectly her nervousness.

"We're telling you that the radar's results show that, either Reindeer Games has clone himself on the whole world, or he is in a place that protects him by showing him everywhere." Tony placed his palms on the table, looking each Avenger in the eye, trying to seem serious.

"Me and Tony concluded that wherever Loki is, he's close to another great power, possibly from another planet, that protects both itself and him from being located with some kind of disorientation. In simple words, if we try to find them, the power confuses our radar and makes us believe that it's somewhere else than it really is." Bruce explained.

Everybody fell in silence. A silence that was ruined a few moments later by Fury. "Alright, then we better hurry things up. Stark and Doctor will try to discard some of the possible places, till they find the real source of the radiation. The rest, better be prepared. If there's another alien power on the planet, it must either be controlled by SHIELD or destroyed."

* * *

 **Okay, from now on I will be writting only one scene at each chapter, and rarely I'll be having two scenes in the same chapter, just because the story between Loki and Erika must continue a bit quicker than before. Whenever it's necessary, I'll write two or three different scenes in the same chapter, just to make things more understandable.**


	10. Time for work!

The ride to the office was as quiet as it could be. Loki was sitting silent in the seat beside Erika, while she was driving through the roads of London. He was staring out of the window, not really paying attention to the buildings. He was thinking of his plan instead. But he wasn't finding any solution that could be held in a short time rate.

"If you expect me to open the door for you, then you'll have to stay in the car." Loki snapped out of his thoughts, looking at the front of the car were Erika was standing, apparently waiting for him to get out of the vehicle. He hadn't realized when they had stopped moving.

He hold back a scowl as he made his way out of the car. Erika grabbed his arm and almost dragged him into a twenty-floored building with numerous windows, through an enormous lobby and into an elevator. Only when the doors closed in front of them, she let go of his arm.

He looked at her out of the corner of his eyes. Her grip on him wasn't very strong, nor threatening in any way. But it was obvious on her face that she didn't want to spend time on waiting him further. She didn't want to be more than late to work.

"Oh, now that I remembered!" Erika opened her bag and started digging into it, trying to find something. Loki only spared her a glance, turning his attention back to the closed doors. He was almost sure that she had been talking to herself, but when he saw a book being given to him, he wasn't sure anymore.

"I thought you might get bored in there, so here. You can take my book, so you'll have something to do. I always carry one with me." Erika placed the book in his hands, turning back to the doors.

Loki read the title. "Illuminati?"

She grinned. "Yeah, it's a nice book. Don't judge it by the title. You should first read the description and the first chapter to start forming any opinion." Just then, the doors opened and Loki had to follow her right then, if he didn't want to be dragged again.

Book in hand and Erika to his side, Loki looked around the room. Lots of long corridors and even more desks filled the room, making it look like a real labyrith. Men and women sitting in groups of two to four at each desk, working on computers, doing paperwork or speaking on the phone. The place reminded a wasp nest.

Erika took a few turns in the corridors, leading them to the end of the room, right in front of a giant window. To her right, there were four seats for the customers, while to her left was another room with a big desk. The walls and the door to it were made of glass, allowing the customer to see what was going on in the room from his seat.

Erika turned to Loki. "Ok, here's what we're going to do. You'll sit here, like a good god you are, and I'll get in there to do my job. Alright?"

Loki raised an annoyed eyebrow. "I'm not a child to be given instructions like that."

She wore a bored expression. "Then keep them in mind and I won't have to repeat myself again, as it seems to bother you so much." Then she turned on her heel and walked in the room.

Loki followed her figure for a moment, before settling down in a seat. He gave a quick look at the description of the book Erika had given him and was about to start reading, when he heard voices from the room opposite of him.

"Erika, you look astonishing as always!" A tall, well-build man with blonde hair and blue eyes greeted Erika, coming to stand right behind her. Loki could easily see Erika make a grimace of annoyance and disappointment, before forcing a smile on her face as she turned to the man.

"And you keep reminding me that, don't you Jason?" she said back, though she didn't seemed like she wanted to be complimented from him. He smiled, what was supposed to be a seductive smile.

"Why wouldn't I? Especially when you're dressed in a way that shows it a lot." he said, eyeing her clothing. Erika rolled her eyes and turned her back on him again, walking to the desk so she could check some papers.

Jason and another man, who seemed to be his friend, checked at her backside while she was walking, smilling to each other. Loki raised an eyebrow as he watched Jason approaching Erika from behind and leaning really close to her, pretending to explain her the information on the papers.

Mortal's way of flirting and mating was pathetic to him. That Jason was making a complete fool of himself, only the dripping saliva was missing to complete his sad efforts. Erika seemed so bothered that Loki was 100% sure that she wanted as much as ever to punch the guy away from her. Her reaction was amusing to him.

Loki shook his head and turned his attention to the book he was holding.

"So Erika, I heard that a new club has recently open a few block away from my appartment. Would you like to-"

"Sorry Jason, I'm busy." Erika cut Jason off, walking away from him, her attention on some papers she was holding. Jason was a swimmer, with two medals, a hottie as her women co-workers would say and he was trying to ask Erika out for three months. He was flirting her all the time, a fact that was really annoying for Erika, as she had no interest on the guy.

"You're always busy." he said from behind her. Erika rolled her eyes. This was going to be long day, full of annoying flirt from Jason and work. Just like every day in work.

* * *

Some hours later, Erika got out of the room.

"Okay norse god, it's time to go!" Loki raised his head, staring at her for a few moments. She was in a hurry, although he couldn't guess why. Before he had time to react, she took hold of his wrist and dragged him towards the elevator.

"Erika!" A male voice yelled behind them. She stopped dead in her tracks and slowly turned to look. Loki turned as well. Oh, that's why she was in a hurry.

Jason reached them and without paying attention to Loki, he stepped close to Erika. "You didn't answer my question."

"I believe I did." She turned once again to go, but Jason grabbed her elbow and turned her back to him.

"I want an honest answer, not the usual 'I'm busy' bullshit." he said, staring into her eyes.

Erika glared at him, before freeing her elbow from his grip and sighing. "Okay, you want sincerity? Fine."

She placed a finger on his chest, poking him as she spoke. "I wouldn't accept to go out with you, even if you were the last man in the universe." And with that, she pushed him a bit too hard with her finger, making him fall on a chair and on the floor, dragging the chair with him.

She then pushed Loki in the elevator and pushed the button for closed doors. Loki noticed a michievious smile appear on her lips. She clearly enjoyed her small victory over her little fan.

"You ways of rejection are very innovative." Erika turned to look at him, the smile disappearing for a moment. She stared at him, trying to understand whether that was an insult or a compliment. He wasn't looking at her, his eyes glued on the doors.

Slowly, a small grin appeared on his face. Causing the smile to return on Erika's face. "Welcome to Earth! He was lucky I hadn't my gloves on!" she said, giving a small chuckle.

To her surprise, her chuckle was accompanied with another one. She glanced to her side and was even more surprised to see that Loki was chuckling too.

Just when she had seen it, he stopped. He glanced at her too and then turned to the doors.

"Seeing your co-worker's appearance, your clothing isn't appropriate in this environment." She quickly looked at her clothes and scowled.

"Please, I don't see any warning about clothes here! I like to wear as less clothes as possible in my home And my job! I feel more free! So keep the style advices to yourself!"

Loki simply rolled his eyes. More free? How old was she, five? Anyway, if she wanted to be dressed like this, it was her problem, not his. Why did he even care?

"You're driving us home then?"

Erika shook her head. "First I have some business to take care of."

* * *

 **Here you go!** **Hope it's good enough. As you might know, the school period starts in less than two weeks, so I won't be able to update so quickly. But, I promise for an update every month!**


	11. Taking care of some business

"I suppose this could be your little paradise, right Emerald Gaze?" asked Erika, standing in front of the bookshop.

Loki raised an eyebrow at her. "What was that you called me?"

"Emerald Gaze. It's your new nickname." she answered, looking away from him. She didn't want him to see her smile. Or else he would understand that she had come up with that nickname because she thought his eyes were awesome. She just couldn't remember when was the last time she had ever seen eyes like those.

Loki rolled his eyes. "Gods don't have nicknames"

"Good, then you'll be the first one! Come on, we're not going to stand here forever!" she said, walking in the bookshop.

Loki stared at her back, before he lost her in the store. Now he had to put up with a nickname as well. Like he hadn't anything better to do. The only thing he was grateful for, right now, was the fact that his new nickname was at least better than Reindeer Games. Only the thought of it made him want to stab someone with his scepter.

He sighed. Well, there was always the hope that she wouldn't use it so often. But Erika, being...Erika was full of surprises. No wonder why from the moment he met her, he found himself in strange situations.

Loki at last got rid of the thoughts and walked in the store. The place was full of tables, which overflowed with books. Every wall had at least twenty bookshelves, with any kind of story you wanted to read.

Loki spotted Erika in a corner. She was looking through the pages of a book, examining its contents. He came to stand beside her, looking over her shoulder to observe the book.

"Seems quite interesting." Erika jumped slightly, turning abruptly to face him. Her reaction caused a teasing smile to appear on his face, causing Erika to narrow her eyes at him.

"Have you done practise on sneaking up on people, or you were born with it?" she asked, trying to sound as sarcastic as she could.

"Knowing that I'm the God of Mischief, you should have predicted some of my abilities."he said, putting on a fake innocent smile.

Erika rolled her eyes, returning to her book. "Whatever, how did it go? Found anything interesting, yourself?"

Now it was Loki's turn to frown. "I beg your pardon?"

Erika turned to him with a 'you're kidding me' look on her face. "You did search for a book of your liking, didn't you?"

Loki looked around the shop, glancing at the numerous books. He titled his head to Erika. "You said, you had a job to take care of. Not that we were going to read books."

Erika raised an eyebrow at him, a small smirk appearing on her face. "You want my permission to look around the place?" she asked teasingly.

Loki stood to his full height, managing to look some inches taller than her, his face like stone. If he was taller than this, she would have felt weak compared to him. Damn her and her unusual height. "I am a king. A god. I don't take permission from anyone, let alone a feeble mortal." he spat.

Erika's grin returned to her face, ignoring completely the words about 'mortals' and such. "Good! Then I suggest you, your majesty, to go and look for any book of your interest, or else I'm afraid you might get bored."

And just like that, she turned back to her book, giving Loki a good view of her back. How dare she to ignore his insults and mock him in the same sentence?! He was a god, a prince and rightful king of Asgard! She should be afraid of him, obey him... Although, she had quite a spirit, he would give her that. And enough smartness to come up with good answers.

Loki shook his head once more, turning his attention on a table. He looked at the various books, picking one at times and looking through its pages. Midgardian books weren't so different from Asgardian ones. They had similar types and plots, stories and magic that Midgardians seemed to call 'science'.

"So, did you find anything you like? Or did I waste my saliva back then?" Loki looked up from a book's description, to find Erika grinning at him. She had a pair of books in her hands, a black one and a green one. How long had he been looking over the variety of books?

"There are a few that seem...proper enough." he said, motioning at three different books. Erika glanced at them for a moment, before grabbing them and walking towards the cash desk. Loki followed straight behind.

"What are you doing?" he asked when he saw Erika openning her purse and taking out something that he assumed was Midgardian money.

"What does it look like? I'm buying you some books." she said, giving the cashier the money and taking the plastic bag with the books in it. She turned around with a kind grin and handed the plastic bag to him. "Here you go."

Loki looked at the bag, then back at her. She had just spent her money, to buy him something that he desired... In a way. And she had known him for less than two days.

"You mortals are strange." he said, following Erika out of the store and close to the car. She turned to him, raising a curious eyebrow.

"If that's your way of thanking people, then you're the strange one buddy!" she said, pointing her car key at him.

Loki rolled his eyes. "I don't think that it's usual for people to buy things for someone who they've known for only two days. It's hard to imagine a whole planet with this kindness."

Erika's eyebrows shot up, realizing what he was talking about. "Oh that! Yeah, well no, there aren't a lot of people who would do this, no. Earth is waaaay more different than that. No, that was just me. And the books are a gift."

Loki was taken aback by that answer. A gift? From her to him. He couldn't understand the meaning of this. Why on Asgard would she want to give him a gift? He frowned, part suspiciously, part curiously. "Why?"

Erika shrugged. "To be honest, I don't know...Oh well, consider it a 'welcome' gift. For... staying in my house."

Loki glanced at the bag in his hands again. He had never been given a present from anyone, only if it was his birthday. And the fact that she wasn't obliged to buy him a present, but she had chosen to do so, felt somehow unusual... Nicely unusual.

Suddenly, he felt being pushed against the car on his back, a hand resting on his chest to keep him there. Then, another one reached up and covered his mouth. His eyes searched rapidly around him.

"Don't make a sound" Erika whispered, her lips close to his ear and her hot breath touching his neck. She turned her head to look behind her, and Loki did the same.

His eyes caught sight of four, maybe five, men walking away from them and disappearing into an alley. One of them was wearing a t-shirt, revealing on his right arm a blue well-made tattoo.

Two swords, joined at the edges.

Erika waited till she couldn't see them, before she released Loki and put her hand into her bag. Loki stood to his full height, eyeing her suspiciously. "What are you doing?"

Erika didn't look up from her purse. "Trying to take the information I want, first hand."

She finally found her gloves, putting them on and placing something she had also found, on her face. When she moved her hands out of the way, Loki saw a beautiful black mask with blue lines resting on her face. He raised an eyebrow at her.

"I don't want them finding out anything about me, so I need to be covered up." she said, curling her fingers slightly, making the sharp claws appear in an instant.

"Whatever it happens, I don't want you to interfere, you dig?" she asked, pointing a claw to his chest. Then she turned around and walked towards the alley, not letting Loki to answer her.

Loki stared where she had been a few moments ago, analyzing the situation in his mind. Of course he wasn't going to interfere, for two basic reasons. First, he didn't want another problem to be added in his list, he already had a lot of his own. Second, it was hers problem so she should deal with it, even if she died... But, that was something else. Had he anything to gain, if the woman died? Or anything to lose?

"Hello boys. Going somewhere?" The gang turned around at the sound of a sweet female voice, accompanied with the noise of metal being dragged across a wall.

Surprise is a very simple word to express what they felt, when they saw a masked woman with metal claws, walking towards them with a threatening smirk. Erika removed her hand from the wall and examined her claws indifferently. "I'm looking for some George Geller, who happens to lead an organisation with bastards like you. Any ideas where I can find him?"

Their answer was to pull out five guns, pointing them at her. She sighed. "And here I thought, we could actually chat quietly."

They fired at her. Erika fell down, rolling on the floor and activating her right glove, which released a round shield. The bullets fell on the shield, not managing to even scratch it. When they stopped to fill their guns again, she threw her shield to one of them, hitting him on the head. He fell unconscious on the ground, the shield returning like a boomerang to her glove and closing itself in it.

Erika shot her hands out towards them, each glove releasing a whip. She moved her whips, hitting their hands to make them lower their guns, swinging the whips again to detach the guns out of their hands. Once they were unarmed, she furled the whips in the gloves and run to the men.

Needless to say, the battle was soon. The men didn't know how to fight like she did. Which meant that they didn't know what to do when she would make flips in the air, or when she would plant punches and kicks on them. At some point, she used the claws. Now instead of punches, she served them slashes on the chest.

At last, they all fell. Actually they were either killed or injured. Erika walked to the one who she had hit with her shield, grabbing him by the neck and bringing him to her face. "Were does your leader hang around the most?"

The man was still dizzy to defend himself. "He goes every Wednesday to the club... 'Feverish Night' "

Erika narrowed her eyes at him. "Thank you." and then she punched him in the face, sending him back to unconciousness.

"So, what did he say?" Erika turned abruptly to find Loki at the entrance of the alley, his arms crossed over his chest. He had obviously seen everything, except if the smile on his face was something else.

Erika took off her mask and gloves, walking towards the car. "I will be going to a club tomorrow." was all she said.

Two hours later, Loki found himself back in Erika's room, where he had woken up the first time. He had previously seen her making the couch for her to sleep. He hadn't of course offered to sleep on the couch, because he was a god and all, but when he asked her why she did that, her answer was that since he had made himself comfortable in her room, she wasn't going to put him out of it.

Loki glanced out of the window, looking at the stars in the sky. He would never admit it to anyone, but to be honest at least with himself, he missed Asgard...and his mother.

His gaze fell on the edge of the bed, where his new books were resting. The books Erika had bought to him. As a present. To welcome him.

His mind travelled back, to when she had found him in that alley. The worry and sympathy in her eyes. When she had taken care of his injuries with more softness than actually needed. When she cleaned up the scratch on his lip. When she had grinned sweetly at him, after she had offered to make cupcakes.

When she had actually thought to give him a book so he wouldn't be bored while she worked. When they had both laughed with her comment. And when she had given him the plastic bag with the books...

His fingers brushed the first book's cover. He felt something warm in his chest, though he couldn't say what it was. His eyes focused on the books, the corners of his mouth raising up into a small smile.

* * *

 **Finally I could make one last chapter for this story as well as for my other one, before the school starts! In case anyone is interested, I uploaded how Erika looks like, as well as her mask, in my account on Deviantart. To see it, just go to my profile, there's the link to my account.**


	12. We found them

Next morning, after breakfast found Loki seated on the couch, reading on of the books Erika had bought for him. His eyes drifted to the clock above the fireplace, seeing the time was 11.30 . He was surprised to realise that he had been reading for more than four hours.

Erika's hyenas were curled the one beside the other in a nearby corner, taking a small nap. He could tell that the two beasts didn't trust him at all, but he had to admit that they were hiding it amazingly well.

Erika got out of the bathroom, wearing her casual clothes and carrying a white towel in one hand and a big electric device, Loki had never seen. He tried to remember whether he had seen this thing when he was in the flying ship of SHIELD, but with no luck.

"I'm going to do some training and for your information, I don't like being distarbed. So, to say it properly, if you enter the guest room while I'm in there, you might get punched in the face." she smiled innocently at him, but stopped when she noticed his curious eyes scanning her device.

"Oh yeah, you might not know what this is. Well Emerald Gaze, this is a radio. It plays the music you put into it."

Loki's eyes drifted from the radio to Erika, holding back a nod of agreement as he returned to his book.

Erika shrugged and moved towards the guest room, then she remembered something and turned to Loki once again. "Oh and you better find something to wear tonight. We're going to have fun in a club!"she smirked knowingly.

Loki raised an eyebrow at her. "And why's that?"

"Important business. This time more important than buying books."she said, her face turning serious.

He stared at her for a moment, immediately understanding for which matter she was talking about. Though, he wasn't willing to show his aknowledge to her, in case she didn't want him to understand. So he simply mastered his face to be the same as before with the radio, before turning his attention back to his book.

Erika didn't pay any more attention, walking in the guest room and closing the door behind her. By the time she had settled the towel on a chair, she heard a knock on the door.

"I told you not to interrupt me! What do you want?!"she huffed, pressing her ear against the closed door.

"One question. What's a 'club;?"

Erika's eyes widened slightly, eyebrows shotting up. Oh.

* * *

"Are you done yet?"she yelled from outside his room, the hurry clear in her voice.

"Hold on, I won't be long!" Wait, since when did he started to be so kind with mortals? Especially when they were talking to him so rudely?!

Loki shook his head and looked at himself in the mirror of the closet. The truth been told, only to himself as always, he had no idea what to wear in this case, so he had decided to dress up the way he was in Germany. A fine suit with his scepter disguised just like back then.

He walked out of the room, fixing his coat as he did so. He looked around the room, but Erika was nowhere to be found. Just then, the bathroom door beside him opened, allowing Erika to walk out of it.

She had styled her hair to be in messy curls, their raven color matching perfectly with her gold round earrings and bracelets, her short tight black dress and shoes. On her waist, she was wearing a red simple belt, showing off more of the curves of her hips.

Loki found himself staring at her figure, unable to move his shining emerald eyes. He blinked slowly, taking in as much of her appearance as he could. The same warmness came back to spread in his chest, to last only a few moments.

"Seems costumes really suit you." she commented as she looked at him up and down, snapping simultaneously Loki out of his previous state.

"You know, you don't need to be dressed so officially." she added, moving a bit closer to him. "Look, I'll show you."

Erika went behind him and removed his coat, placing it on a nearby chair. Then she went in front of him. She reached up and undid the first two buttons of his shirt, making it more loose, fixing his collar with her fingers.

She raised her eyes to his face, when she felt his breath falling warm and deep against her face, only to be met with a pair of enchanting green eyes staring right into her own, trying desperately to read her very soul and mind.

They stayed like this, eyes searching eyes, unable to speak or act in any way. Her hands were still on the crook of his neck, but made no move to fix the collar anymore.

Erika felt a tugging on her leg. Snapping out of her previous state, she looked down to see her hyenas staring up at her with worried expressions. She smiled, bending down to pet their heads, breaking the not so awkward moment of hers with the God of Mischief.

"Alright... so, you're ready to go then?" she asked, turning with a small grin to him. Loki finally regained all of his senses. changing into the man he was at her office.

"Ready." he smirked.

* * *

He didn't like this place. He didn't like it at all. From the moment he stepped inside the building, he was hit by a wave of too loud music, a very strong scent of alcohol and the suffocating atmosphere of an overcrowded place. Although Asgard hadn't places like that, the club was combining all the things he had disliked from Asgard. It was just perfect.

"Come on!" he felt a hand grabbing his wrist and for one more time, he found himself being dragged by Erika. She lead him towards the bar, making him to sit, as she took a seat beside him. She ordered two beers for them, waiting patiently for her order to be ready. When the beers were served, she took hers in her hands and turned her attention towards the dance floor.

Loki wasn't much of a drinker, unlike his brother thankfully, so he just wrapped his fingers around the glass, feeling the coolness of the beer. He stared at Erika, watching curiously as she took small gulps from her beer and moved a bit to the rhythm of the music.

"If you like it so much, then why don't you go dance?" Erika turned to Loki in a surprised state, she had expected him to be silent all the night, considering how close person he was.

"Dance? Oh yeah, well this song is better when is danced in pairs and in case you don't have noticed, I don't have a partner." Just when she had finished talking, a spark appeared in her eyes, and her whole face light up. "Unless you dance with me!"

Loki's eyebrows shot up. "Wha-"

Before he was able to finish his sentence, she grabbed his hand again and dragged him to the dance floor, where the song 'Please don't stop the music' by Rihanna was playing the intro. Loki finally made Erika stop and turned her to look at him.

"I'm not going to dance." he said, greeting his teeth.

She raised an eyebrow at him. "You don't know how to dance?"

"What?! I do know how to dance, you insolent mortal! But, I'm not going to waste my time with your kinds of entertainment!"

"Oh come ooon!" Just follow me and do what other men do! You'll have fun, trust me!" she said, taking his hands in hers, making him start to dance with her. His eyes were trying to find a way to escape from that humiliating situation, simultaneously glancing at his feet, so he wouldn't step on Erika or trip anywhere. The sound of soft giggling caused him to look up, seeing Erika's smiling face looking back at him. He couldn't help but admit that she was beautiful when she was smiling. And considering what few things he had learnt for her, being happy and having fun was not part of her daily schedule. He suddenly felt a twinge of guiltiness, thinking that by trying to get out of this situation, he would somehow ruin her great time.

Loki gulped discreetly, staring back at her as he started to follow the way the other men around them where dancing. He was shocked to realize, some moments later, that he was actually dancing to the rhythm, and he was enjoying it! He smiled at Erika, who had the biggest smile in the world.

After the song came to an end, Erika was laughing nonstop, saying that she could never imagine Loki dancing. Loki would be pissed in any other case, but right now the only thing he was feeling was a small amount of pleasure in the place of the previous guiltiness.

"Oh my, you were very good back there Loki! And you said it was a waste of your time!" she teased. Loki put on a 'not amused' expression.

"Just because I decided to get on with it as soon as possible, doesn't mean that I enjoyed it."

Erika rolled her eyes playfully. "Yeah yeah, like I didn't see your face when-"

She wasn't able to finish what she was saying, as her eyes fell in a corner of the club, in a specific table with sofas instead of chairs. In that table was sitting a gang of seven men, black and white skinned, each one of them had the same tattoo. Two swords. And in the middle of them, was sitting a tall, thin man with dirty blonde hair and a scar on the crook of his neck, drinking his drink indifferently. George Geller.

"Erika, are you alright?" Loki placed a hand on her shoulder, shaking her slightly. She stayed frozen in her place, something that made Loki curious and spread an alerting feeling inside him.

"We found them." she whispered, only for Loki to hear. Before he was able to understand what she was saying, she closed her eyes and felt her head, a strong dizziness filling her. Loki had to wrap both his arms around her, to prevent her from fainting.

* * *

"Anything rejected from our options?" Tony asked, rubbing his eyes tiredly.

"Still nothing." Bruce took off his glaces, at last finding the chance to take his eyes off of the computer screen.

Tony sighed for the millionth time since the research had started. "This is ridiculous. Last time, it was like searching a needle of 5 millimeter in a barn full of straw. Now it's like searching the same needle in a barn with straw, which has the size of five skyscrapers together! If this-"

"Tony. You need to see this." Bruce was once again looking at the computer screen, a surprised expression on his face.

When Tony laid his eyes on the screen, his expression was same as Bruce's. The screen showed the electronic form of the Earth filled with the small lights as before. Only now the lights were flickering like crazy, till they all went off apart from a very weak one in the United States.

Tony and Bruce looked at each other, thinking the same thing. "We found them."

* * *

The creature watched impatiently as the lights on Midgard went off almost together. An only weak light staying on. The cold creature ran quickly to its master, kneeling in front of them.

"Master, we found them."

The master smiled devilishly, watching out of the corner of his eye the two smokes in the box, shining and flying around their small prison hysterically, in alert.

* * *

 **I have posted how Erika's dress is in Deviantart, and during the weekend I'll upload another Loki video.**

 **Note: The song I'm using in this video is going to appear in my other Loki story. Hope you like chapter 12!**


	13. Not ending up as expected

"Erika. Erika! What's wrong?" Erika blinked rapidly, the dizziness slipping out of her as suddenly as it had came. She felt a pair of cool hands around her and turned to see Loki, looking at her with an almost... worried expression.

"Nothing, I was just a bit dizzy. I'm fine, really." she offered a small smile, slowly moving out of his arms.

He slowly moved his arms to his side, feeling embarrassed that he had showed so much will to help her. He glanced over, towards the table she had been starring at, realizing why she had reacted so strangely before.

Erika looked at that table again, observing the leader. This was the chance she had been craving for, the chance to meet the killer of her parents face to face and pay him the same way. She took in a deep breath, clenching and unclenching her fists. "Ok, let's get down to business. Loki, I think you should stay here and wait for me, I'll be back in less than 30 minutes."

And with that, she walked off towards the dance floor. Loki stayed there, watching with a both angry and surprised expression. How dared she tell him, a God of Asgard, what to do?! Not to mention that she had dragged him here in the first place and now she had abandoned him!

He huffed angrily, walking back to his seat and taking the still cool glass of beer in his hands. He turned his attention to the dance floor, staring indifferently at the crowd. A song called "Dirty dancer" by Enrique Iglesias was playing in the loudspeaker. In the first ten seconds of the song, none of them was good. Then his eyes found Erika.

She was dancing in a corner of the dance floor, swinging her hips to the music, arms and legs following the rhythm and a seductive smile playing on her lips. Loki found himself unable to look anywhere else, instead he was staring at her form in a way that he himself would find rather dump. He had never seen this kind of dance before, but he felt his eyes glued on her either way.

As the song changed to one called "I like it" of the same singer, Loki caught the form of a man walking up to Erika and starting to dance with her. Unconsciously, Loki greeted his teeth, his eyes burning holes on the back of the man.

Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted the leader of the Night Soldiers smiling with pleasure at the sight of Erika's dance. Loki narrowed his eyes, looking between him and Erika. He understood the leader's look. He had apparently send one of his men to Erika to test her. If she was good enough for him. And she was passing the test with an A. This is what she wanted from the beginning. Her plan. She wanted the man's attention on her. And what could she find more effective from dance and seduction?

George Geller stood up and slowly made his way to her, dismissing his follower. Erika smiled sweetly at him, giving him somehow permission to lay his hands on her hips. Loki clenched his fist hard, the blood leaving his hand and that part of his skin turning paler than it already was. A sudden pain spread all over his palm, followed by a cool liquid that burned him intolerably. Loki hissed, looking at his palm. Pieces of glass were stuck in his palm, from the broken glass of beer he had been squeezing in his hand, cutting his skin and allowing a good amount of blood to pour down his hand. The alcohol of the beer was burning his open wound mercilessly.

He turned his eyes back to Erika, finding her in the same place as before, only now she was guiding George to a dark corner of the club, where no one was going to see them. Her hands were hidden in her weapon-gloves.

Erika stopped when she was sure that nobody was going to interrupt her. She turned to Geller with fake sweetness, pushing him to sit on a sofa. As she had planned, Geller was smiling like an idiot, clueless. "Now, let's have some fun, huh?"

His smile widened at the sound of her words, grabbing her waist and bringing her closer to him. Erika managed to slip out of his hands and go behind his back, travelling her hands on his chest. He closed his eyes with pleasure. "Oh yeah, baby!"

Erika kept moving her hands, slowly releasing one of her whips and tying it around his throat, without him noticing. She brought her mouth close to his ear, whispering. "Do you remember a policeman you killed in his home, along with his wife?"

George's eyes snapped open. "What?"

Erika quickly pulled the ends of her whip, cutting his breath. Geller struggled to break free from the whip, but the more he tried, the more the whip was tightening. Erika narrowed her eyes at his form, hissing threateningly. "You better remember, because your life depends on it!"

George struggled more against the whip, trying to find his breath again. "Yes... I-I remem-...ber."

Erika pulled the ends of the whip even more, whispering in his ear. "Then you know the reason you're leaving us."

And with that, she took out her metal claws and slashed his throat open.

She whipped her bloody claws on his clothes, taking in her whip and taking off the gloves right after. She breathed out, her whole body relaxing. When she felt a strong grip on her right wrist.

She quickly turned her head, to find Loki glaring at her angrily. His eyes were filled with anger, a dangerous sparkle playing in them, and Erika felt his grip getting tighter with every passing minute. "We're leaving. Now."

Before Erika was able to speak, Loki pulled her hand, dragging her out of the club and out on the road. He had enough of that club for one night, and he wasn't going to stay in there a moment longer.

* * *

Loki dragged Erika inside her house, banging the door right after. He turned to look at her shocked face, never letting her wrist go. "What on Asgard do you think you were doing back there?"

Erika would answer him, but his grip on her was disturbing her. She winced. "You're hurting me."

Loki took in a deep breath, realizing what he was doing and he slowly let go of her. She rubbed her wrist with her hand, glaring at him. "What's wrong with you?"

Loki narrowed his eyes at her. "I believe the one who should be asking this question is me."

Her eyes widened. "What?! Has the music affected the way your brain works? What suddenly happened to you, that you had to grab me and drag me back home like I'm some kind of spoiled child?!"

"That you are, you brainless woman. What were you thinking, dancing for the entertainment of the man who killed your parents?!" he said, the tone of his voice dangerous.

"For your information, mister, dancing isn't something bad and I had to catch his attention. That was the plan!" she yelled.

Loki rolled his eyes. "Of course, you do the first thing that comes to your pathetic half-empty mind, believing that's the most brilliant idea you can ever have. Had you thought that those men could easily have taken advantage of you, you would have thought something different."

Erika frowned angrily. "I'm not any weak, helpless little girl, in case you haven't understand it yet, I can protect myself. Do you really think that I chose to do this plan because I liked it?"

Loki raised his eyebrows ironically. "Really? Because you didn't seem to be bothered, when he laid hands on you."

Erika gasped, pushing his chest away, only managing to move him an inch. Her hyenas had heard the hustle and were looking between the two of them, trying to understand which one was right. "Shut up! You know nothing about me, about humans! And I though you would be capable to understand my plan! You're just an egoistic, big-headed man, who believes himself above the others!"

Loki pushed her against a wall with one hand, his face close to hers, his eyes sparkling dangerously. "Watch your tongue towards me."

The hyenas growled lowly, a warning for the God to not go this any further. He paid no attention to them. Erika struggled, catching both his wrists in her hands to try to push him away.

"If you think that you can scare me, you-" Erika stopped abruptly talking, when she felt a cool liquid running down her thumb. "What the-"

She turned to look at her hand, her eyes catching a glimpse of red. She gasped, her eyes climbing up to Loki's palm, seeing his blood coming out of his open wound, his whole palm was literally covered in blood and glass pieces. "Oh my God."

Loki raised an eyebrow. "...Yes?"

Erika would have rolled her eyes, if the case was different. But right now the blood-covered palm was worrying her. She took his hand in both her hands, careful not to touch the blood. "What happened to your hand?!"

Loki stared at it in silence, noticing her worried tone. She very carefully pulled out the glass pieces, examining his hand. She raised her eyes up to him. "How did this happen anyway?"

Loki pulled his hand away from her, eyeing her warningly. He was still mad from their fight, a few moments ago. "Why do you care to learn?"

Erika frowned at him, her previous anger returning. "You wish! You better go wash this, before you begrime anything! And don't you dare make such a scene, like you're my father, again!"

Loki made a mocking face. "As you wish. If you don't care about the danger of being raped, it's your problem."

"Why do you even care anyway?!"

Loki stared at her in silence, for two seconds only. Trying to find out the answer himself, in his mind. "I don't. The day I start caring for a pathetic mewling quim, is the day Ragnarok happens."

Erika gulped hard. "I doubt that Ragnarok will ever happen then."

Loki walked in his room, turning to her, before closing the door. "And I doubt that you'll be able to stay unharmed for the rest of your life."

Erika went to get in the room and answer him, when he closed the door in her face, ending up with her palms against the door. She groaned, hitting her palms on the door. She couldn't stand this guy! One moment, he seemed to be having the time of his life and the next he was angry, like she had read his diary, or something! She sighed, pressing her back against the door and slowly gliding down, sitting on the floor with her legs on her chest.

She had to admit, she regretted not helping him with his hand, and being so tough with him. Annoying or not, he had yelled to her to be more careful. Maybe she was wrong about her reaction towards him. She sighed heavilly, hiding her face in her hands, her hyenas watching with sad looks.

On the other side of the door, Loki's back was pressed against the door as well. Loki exhaled deeply, rubbing his eyes with his fingertips. What had happened to him back there?! Why had he even spared a second glance at what Erika was doing with those men? A god like him, giving a mortal woman lessons about how to act, and having s ridiculous fight with her for what? And after all this, she still was willing to help him with his hand. He looked at it. What had gotten into him? He should be planning his revenge on the Avengers, not being involved with a negligible mortal.

* * *

"A game?" Steve frowned. "You mean that this thing, the power that protects Loki in a way, is playing with us?"

Tony pointed a finger at him. "Exactly! It's like hide n' seek, only Loki is hiding everywhere and we have to figure out where he actually is hiding!"

The Avengers team stared at Tony silently. They glanced at the projector, showing the Earth with every continent full of small lights of radiation gamma, trying to understand Tony's explaining themselves.

"Can someone translate that for me, because I'm not going to have a confused god of thunder staring at me, when he comes back." Fury finally spoke up.

Banner took a step forward, using the screen to explain. "Tony and I were working on rejecting the fake radiations that exist as a distraction, so we could locate Loki, when without our insertion, the signals went out apart from one, right here. A moment later, the signals went back on. We were only able to exclude some continents, so our basic suspects are America and Europe."

Natasha placed the last piece of the puzzle. "So Tony believes that this unusual reaction that happened before, was some kind of extra security parameter?"

"Yes! Finally someone gets the point!" Tony exclaimed. "It's trying to distract us, playing all the cards that it has."

"Tony..." Clint gestured towards the screen.

The Avengers stared at the screen, where the lights of the Earth glowed brighter, spreading all over the planet, even in the oceans, staying like this for almost 5 minutes, before abruptly going off, apart from the ones on Europe and America.

Tony looked at the surprised faces of the others. "Uh, what the hell was that?"

* * *

"We don't know, master. One moment we had a specific location of the power source and the next one, we returned back to where we were from the beginning. We lost it."

"Enough with the excuses! I want you to find it and I want it now!" yelled the master of the creature.

"Yes master Egil." Egil turned to the box close to his throne, narrowing his eyes at the two smokes inside it, which were swirling around each other peacefully.

"Laugh as much as you want, my enemies. I haven't said my last word yet."

* * *

 **I am so so so so sorry for not updating earlier, but I had problems with my computer! Please forgive me, and tell me what you think. Has anyone understand what is the role of those lights yet?**


	14. Changes of living

Loki lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling with one hand under his head. His injured hand rested on the sheets, the palm looking upwards so he wouldn't get the bed dirty. He was so drawn in his thoughts about the night's events and his forming plan to defeat the Avengers, that he hadn't even bothered himself to clean it up.

He heard a small noise like scratch on his door, along with a low whimper. He frowned, sitting up and looking at the door. The small noises were heard again, this time accompanied with exhaling noises.

Loki's frown deepened as he stood up and went to open the door. Could it be Erika? He shook his head. There was no reasonable or possible way that she was doing these noises to catch his attention.

Loki was surprised to see Erika's hyenas, looking up at him in front of his door. Their boss was nowhere to be seen, so how where they here?

Batok took a cautious step forward, sniffing at his bloodied hand. Loki raised an eyebrow, as the male hyena ran away, while Jasira started to push him backwards with her snout.

Loki backed up to the bed, when Jasira rose on her hind legs and pushed him to sit down. Just then Batok came in, a small bottle in his mouth. When Jasira noticed him, she turned and left the room.

"What are you two dump-" Loki stopped in mid-sentence when Jasira entered the room with a bowl of steaming water in her mouth. She placed it on Loki's nightstand, pushing it a bit further inside with her paw. Batok dropped the bottle on Loki's knees and sat beside Jasira, both of them staring at him.

Loki looked at the bowl of water, spotting a piece of fabric in it. His eyes fell on the small bottle on his knees, picking it and bringing it close to his face, observing it. He needed two seconds to realize that this bottle was the same Erika had used to heal his wounds a few days ago. Loki glanced at her pets. "You're trying to help me."

Their ears perked up when they heard him, titling their heads in a way of saying 'yes'. Loki breathed out, moving to take the fabric out of the bowl. He squished it in his fist, slowly bringing his injured hand closer. Batok took the bottle in his mouth, Jasira moving closer and taking off its cap with her teeth. Loki placed the fabric on his knees, taking the bottle from Batok and pouring some drops of its liquid on the cloth.

He then started to clean his hand, hissing a bit from the pain. He cleaned the cloth in the water and placed it on his hand, trying to tie it on it. The hyenas jumped on the bed, Batok taking one end of the fabric in his mouth and Jasira taking the other. That way, Loki managed to tie the fabric around his hand like a bandage.

"I had never thought that I would say that to animals, but...thank you." Loki said in a low voice, like he was afraid of anyone hearing him say that.

The two hyenas perked their ears, blinking once before leaving the room. Loki looked at his tied hand, deciding that this was the weirdest situation he had ever found himself in.

A scream of pain snapped him out of his thoughts, instinctively jumping out of the bed. He remained frozen, listening to the deep silence of the house. He was sure that he hadn't imagined the scream, so how could there be so much silence?

Another scream was heard, coming from the living room. Loki's breath caught in his throat, as he realized that the scream was Erika's. Without thinking, he slowly walked towards the living room, stopping before the end of the corridor, staying behind a wall.

His eyes drifted across the room, spotting Erika's form on the floor, the moonlight coming from the windows helping his vision. She was laying on the floor, breathing with difficulty and groaning in pain.

Erika used her hands to push herself up from the floor, only for her legs to give up and let her fall on her knees. She placed a hand on her chest, close to her heart, in an attempt to ease her pain, slowly crawling towards a couch.

She leaned her back against it, looking up at the ceiling and feeling her heartbeat. She was in much more pain than she would be in if she was giving birth. She felt like someone was tearing in small pieces her chest with a burning blade, trying to reach her heart.

She screamed as another big wave of pain ran through her body. Batok and Jasira came near her, their tails between their hind legs.

"Why are you doing this to me? Why don't you leave me alone, yet?" she whispered to no one, like she was trying to talk with a spirit of some kind.

The hyenas approached her, their noses turning a red color of fire. They touched her chest with their noses, the same red color spreading across her chest, lasting only a few seconds before it dissolved.

Erika breathed a sigh of relief, beads of sweat running down her forehead. She petted their heads, their noses turning black again. "Thank you guys."

She let her head fall back on the couch, staring at the ceiling. She closed her eyes, cleaning her mind from the thoughts of her previous torture. Batok and Jasira lay on the floor beside her, placing their heads on each one of her thighs.

Loki backed up to his room, closing his door quietly enough for Erika not to listen. His head was filled with a variety of questions. What had happened to Erika back there was not something that could be natural. Even though he didn't know much about Midgardians, he had learned a few things about them when he was preparing to take over the Earth, and as far as he knew about their sicknesses, none of the symptoms of them contained such pain on the chest. So, it wasn't natural.

Could maybe...Could he be responsible for what happened to her? No, he couldn't, he hadn't done anything to her. But what if, he had? Loki shook his head angrily. Why did he, a god, even care about what was going on with a mortal?! He could do anything to her, even kill her, and don't spare her a second glance!

He huffed in frustration. This was going to be a long night.

* * *

"Oh, I hadn't seen you coming in! Good morning." Erika said, placing a plate of warm waffles with syrup in front of Loki.

He raised his eyes from his book, glancing at her and then at the breakfast. Judging by her behavior, she had either forgotten their fight last night, or she had decided to forget it. He saw Erika sitting opposite of him on the couch, starting to eat her own waffles.

He decided to follow. Placing the book beside him on the couch, he took the plate and the fork in his hands, slowly eating his breakfast. Though he wouldn't admit it, he liked the taste of it.

He glanced at Erika, thinking over how he could ask her about last night. "You know, last night...I heard someone scream."

Erika almost dropped her fork. She swallowed her bite hard, coughing in her throat. "Really? I didn't hear anything. The neighbors maybe threw a party."

Loki played with his food indifferently. "Strange. I would swear that it was coming from here."

Erika glanced at him, turning to stare at her plate after a moment. "I didn't notice."

"You sure? Because the scream was-"

"You finished with that?" Erika interrupted, standing up and taking Loki's and her plate, disappearing into the kitchen.

Loki stared at the closed kitchen door. If she didn't want to talk about last night's event, then fine. He would find another way to discover what was going on with this mortal woman.

The door bell caught his attention, Erika coming out of the kitchen to answer it. "Who is it?"

"Delivery for miss Erika" said a muffled voice from the other side of the door. Erika frowned, she hadn't ordered anything.

When she opened the door though, she was met with two small female faces, smiling brightly up at her. "Erika!"

Erika was pushed backwards, losing her balance and falling on her back, while two other bodies fell on top of her. She started laughing loudly, along with the other two, hugging them tightly. "Leah, Becky, my sisters! I missed you so much! What are you doing here?"

Leah got up, flashing a big smile. She was a beautiful 13 year-old teenage girl, with long fiery red curls covering her back and light green eyes. She wasn't very tall for her age, but she had long thin legs to support her small waist. She was usually wearing her skin tight jeans with a dark purple shirt hugging perfectly her figure and a pair of black small boots. She always had a golden chain hugging around her hips. "We decided to pay you a visit! And we also thought-"

"To stay with you for a while!" Becky's cheerful voice interrupted. She was a cute 6 year-old, with strawberry blond hair reaching down her shoulders and a pair of light blue eyes. Her small figure was dressed in a wavy dress in the color of the deep sea. Around her waist was hanging a golden belt.

"Stay here!?" Erika looked between her sisters with surprise. She was very happy to see her sisters after 2 years of only phone calls or through the computer, of course, but having her sisters in the same room with a guy that could be more dangerous than the whole society of the Night Soldiers was a risk she didn't want to take. Though, she could try to control the situation...

"Is it okay with you?" Leah asked, looking at Erika with a slight bit of worry.

Erika snapped out of her thoughts, plastering a reassuring smile on her face. "Yes, of course! I'm so happy, you're going to stay! Though, you must put up with another guest I'm hosting."

Leah raised an eyebrow, curious and suspicious, while Becky grinned widely, excited. "Who is it?"

Erika gave a half-hearted smile, pushing the door to the living room open. Her eyes fell on a peaceful Loki, reading calmly his book. Erika didn't know why, but she could swear that he had been listening to them the whole time.

He raised his eyes at the sound of the door, his gaze scanning the two new people in the room, up and down. In return, the two girls took in his form, curiosity and interest shining in their eyes.

"Girls, meet Loki, Emerald Gaze as I call him. Loki, these are my sisters, Leah and Becky. They'll stay here for some time."

Loki's eyes snapped up to her face at the last part, his expression showing off a small amount of surprise and disagreement. "Stay here, hopefully is used to show the amount of time in hours."

Erika rolled her eyes, her arms crossed over her chest. She should have been expecting this kind of reaction, from that guy! "No, it means that they're going to eat, sleep, dress up and spend time in here for some days. You know how is this called? Oh yeah, live here."

Loki rolled his eyes. "I believed mortals were supposed to be creatures with some stockage of intelligence, but seeing how this situation is going on, this theory should be repealed."

Erika placed her hands on her hips, cocking an eyebrow. "Eeexcuse me?"

"You offered me your chambers to stay in, while you are practically living in the couch. How are you going to host two more persons?"

"I have a bed in the training room and the couch you have taken with your butt can turn into a bed. So, problem is solved. Any other complaints?"

Loki hold back a sigh. Another Stark person. The fact that she could be both kind and bitter with him was something that could mess up his nerves. "What about the retention of peace in my mind?"

Erika shrugged. "That you should deal with yourself. Girls, find something to do, till I bring you some cupcakes."

She went into the kitchen, preparing a tray with some cupcakes. What a jerk, that god, who does he think he is, not wanting her sisters to stay? Who asked him, anyway?!

Leah and Becky sat on the couch opposite of Loki, staring at him with curiosity, deep in thought. Loki tried to ignore them, but he found it impossible, the two girls were unbearable.

"It's very rude to stare at someone." he said, turning to look at them. Leah turned to Becky, whispering something in her ear.

Becky squealed happily, jumping off of the couch. She pointed a finger at Loki. "Stay there!"

And then she ran to the training room. Loki glanced at Leah, confused, only to have the girl look back at him, curiously.

This was going to be a long stay in Midgard.

* * *

 **Sorry, I couldn't resist updating another chapter, even though the previous one got no reviews... Leah's and Becky's clothes can be found in my polyvore account. Just go to my profile, copy my username for polyvore and paste it in the website.**


	15. One sided revelation

Becky came back running into the living room, a thick book in her hands. She passed it to Leah, and they opened it at a specific page, their eyes drifting from the book to his face.

"He could be..." Leah shrugged, looking at the book again. Loki glanced at the outside of their book, holding back from smirking. The book had the title 'Norse Mythology'

Becky took the open book in her hands and rushed to his side, showing him the book. "I'm sorry, is that you?"

Loki looked at the picture she was showing to him. It was a pitiful drawing f him, clearly made for children, with his armor and a crazy smile on his face. He frowned, his face was not like that. It was anything but that. "I'm not like this pathetic picture."

Becky's face light up in a huge smile, closing the book in an instant and hugging it. "I knew your name sounded familiar! So you're really a god?! You can't die?!"

Loki blinked at her, he certainly hadn't expected that much interest from her. "I can die, but only from very powerful magical weapons."

Becky sat herself on the small table, facing him with sparkling eyes. "Is it true that you have a helmet with golden horns?"

He smirked. "It is."

"Did you heard about the attack of aliens in New York?" Loki's eyes snapped up at Leah. Her face was a bit suspicious towards him, though she didn't seem like she knew anything about it.

"Midgardian problems do not matter to me." he said, trying to sound indifferent.

Leah's face was now covered with a slight smile, making herself comfortable on the couch. "Can you show us a bit of your magic?"

Loki was ready to deny, the last thing he wanted was the two annoying brainless mortals to stick on his side, but stopped. Why not showing them what he was capable of? This way they would learn how powerful he is and they would respect him, without much effort from his part.

He smirked, creating some green sparks with his palm. The astonished eyes of both girls encouraged him to continue. He twisted his fingers, transforming Becky's book into a lizard, making her jump with a yelp.

He chuckled, the lizard turning back into a book. He changed his appearance to look like the blonde man he was disguising to go with Erika on the outside world. The girls had wide smiles on their faces, their eyes sparkling from the enthusiasm.

"And let's not forget..." he trailed off, turning back to his normal self, fifteen clones of him jumping out of nowhere right after, circling the girls.

"This is awesome!" Becky squealed, as Loki's clones disappeared.

"Quite spectacular. Very cool!" added Leah.

Loki looked at them. He hadn't expected this reaction from them, usually nobody looked up to his abilities, they only avoided him. A small smile appeared on his lips, this new reaction towards his face was something quite pleasant for him. He could actually come to like the two brats.

"Sorry for the long wait, I had to warm them up a bit. What are you guys doing?" Loki's smile disappeared immediately, as Erika entered the living room, a plate of warm chocolate and vanilla cupcakes in hand. The girls rushed to her happily.

"Loki showed us his powers! It was amazing, you should be here!" Becky squealed, hugging Erika's waist. Erika laughed, passing the plate to Leah, before picking Becky up in her arms.

"Yeah, this is by far more interesting than the book." Leah commented, taking a bite from one of the cupcakes, She let out a small moan of pleasure, licking her lips. "Delicious. Take one!"

She hold the plate close to Loki, for him to take one. He was ready to deny again, when he saw her bright smile. If he denied, her smile would fade away. Of course, he didn't care. Though, they had made it really well so far, they hadn't disliked him. So, why should he ruin it?

He hesitantly took one in his hand, placing it on the table in front f him. He looked at Leah, nodding his head. "Thank you"

Erika smiled brightly, she hadn't expected him to be so nice with the girls. Maybe she had judged him too quickly.

Leah took Erika's laptop, tipping something in Google. Erika let Becky on the floor, giving her a cupcake and taking one herself. She saw out of the corner of her eyes, Leah's eyes widening.

"Did you fucked a horse?!" All three of them turned to Leah, confused. She was looking straight at Loki, shock on her face. Loki frowned. "Excuse me?"

"Did you fucked a horse and the baby horse was born with eight legs?!" she asked again, glancing at the website she had opened.

Loki's face became furious, his grip on his book tightening. How dared that insolent, weak, brainless brat- "Of course not! Where did you found the stupid courage to insult me like that!?"

"Sorry, I just wanted to see whether the Internet was right or-" Leah stopped, her eyes glued on the laptop screen. She clicked with trembling hands on the screen, the sound of laughing following right after.

Erika became white like sheet, immediately recognizing the video. Becky ran happily to see it, freezing in place when she laid eyes on it. Two tears ran down Leah's cheeks, Becky had already started sobbing. Erika came to their side, placing a hand on each one's shoulder. "Girls, come on."

Loki looked at them, confused , slowly standing up and walking behind them to see himself. He saw a young couple, a thin blonde man with green eyes and a red-haired woman with blue eyes, with three children.

The one was a younger version of Leah, and the other was Erika at her twelve years. The woman was holding an infant in her arms, probably Becky. Loki raised an eyebrow. "What happened? Hard to accept their death?"

The three girls turned to him in shock. How could he be so cruel? Did he really think that because they were mortals, they had no feelings? Leah narrowed her wet eyes at him. "You..."

"Leah, hush. Come on, let's go to the training room." Erika slightly pushed them towards the training room, letting them go in by themselves, before turning to Loki.

"You know, there are some limits! Just because you're a god and such, you think yourself above the humans?! Don't you know that, apart from some small differences, you're just like us?! You can feel sentiments, you can be hurt, you can care for someone, you have weaknesses. Just like humans! It doesn't matter how you look like, but how you're inside! So, stop being so cold, especially in this matter!" she yelled, a single tear running down her cheek, before she disappeared in the training room.

Loki stood there in shock. No one had ever talked to him like that, or even had looked at him that way. And how dared she, to compare him with humans?! A god being equal with the mortals! How humiliating, insulting! Like he could ever have anything in common with mortals, even with Erika herself! He had a cleverness compared with no one else's, he was searching everything he wanted to know about in books, he could silence everyone with his reasoning and even though he wouldn't admit it, he had felt both love and sadness in his family matters.

What did Erika and the other mortals have in common with him and the Asgardian people? Just because they were born, they live and they die, doesn't mean that they're the same! Nor that mortals have feelings for their loved ones, or they act like Asgardian children. And Erika was searching everything she wanted in that glowing thing of hers. Also to be honest, he was doing this quite a lot those days, she and her sisters were clever enough...for mortals.

Loki sat on the couch staring at his feet. Maybe Asgardian people weren't so different from Midgardians after all...His magic was her science, in a way. His books were her...internet. They both had music and dance, they both could be happy, have fun or be sad. Wait, what was he saying!? She was already getting under his skin, and they barely knew each other!

Loki unconsciously walked towards the training room, silently opening the door in a small crack. Inside the room were various gymnastic equipment, a small bed in the corner and a TV opposite of it. Erika and her sisters were sited on the bed, watching a movie called 'Dumbo'.

The two young girls were leaning against Erika's arms, watching the scene in which Dumbo visited his mother in her cell. The two girls sniffed lightly, their eyes filling with tears when Dumbo's mother was singing to him.

"I want my mommy." whimpered Becky, whipping away her tears on Erika's arm.

Erika turned to her with a sorrowful look, hugging her protectively. She placed a small kiss on her forehead, trying to comfort her.

"How did Loki know about our parents?" asked Leah, looking at Erika expectantly, a look that clearly showed her doubts about Erika having talked to Loki about that matter.

Erika suppressed a gulp, her eyes drifting to the floor. "I told him."

"Then, since he knows what happened why he's acting like a jerk?" she asked again, clearly annoyed by Loki's previous behavior. Erika shrugged.

"I really have no idea, Leah." Becky sniffed looking up at Erika.

"Could he be an orphan? Or maybe he doesn't love his family?"

Erika's eyebrows shot up. "I don't think so. What kind of person doesn't love their family?"

Leah looked at her hands. "Someone that has been in great pain."

Erika shook her head, getting off of bed. "Enough with these things. I'm going to the kitchen. Keep watching your movie."

As the younger girls returned to their movie, Erika stepped out of the room. And bumped right into Loki.

"What are you doing?" she asked narrowing her eyes at him. For a moment, she thought she heard him gulp.

"I...apologize." Erika's face changed immediately, her shoulders falling as she slowly worked out what he had just said. He was actually apologizing?

"It's just that, I was never so fond of my family, like you and your sisters." he said, trying to hide his uneasiness. The fact that he wasn't very used to apologizing was not very helpful right now.

"Well, not all of us have the same problems with you." she said, somehow sounding like she was trying to reason him. But in Loki's mind, a new question had already formed.

"Why you're so different from your parents?"

Erika cocked an eyebrow. "What?"

"Your father was blonde with green eyes and your mother was red headed with blue eyes. Your sisters have these characteristics, but you don't . Why?" he asked again, though he had a very slight idea of what her answer would be.

Erika sighed, looking down at the floor. She should have thought, that he would be clever enough to notice her strong differences with her family. She looked up at him again. "Because I'm adopted."

Loki's eyes widened, and he felt like he had been hit by Thor's lightning. She was adopted? And she didn't mind? She was adopted and still loved her parents and sisters?! Those people weren't her true family, they had been lying to her, her whole life was a lie and they were hypocrites. Why did she still cared?! Not only that, but she had kept loving and staying with them, after all. Why?!

Erika started to walk towards the living room. "Come with me."

He followed in silence. But instead of stopping to the living room, she kept going, climbing up some stairs to end up on the small terrace of the house. She sat on the edge of it, her legs hanging off of the edge. When she understood that Loki had chose to stay on his feet behind her, she sighed, more because of how much of a jerk he could be than of the explanation she was going to give him.

"My true parents are Nott, the goddess of the night and Vali, god of revenge. I guess you must have heard of them." Loki's eyes widened at the sound of those names and he was more than thankful that he was standing behind her back, so she couldn't see his shocked expression. Nott and Vali were two of the most powerful gods of Asgard right after the royal family. They were stronger in mind, magic and fight skills than the Warriors Three and Lady Sif. Before himself and Thor, the only ones who were greater than them were Odin and Frigga. He and Thor admired them as young children. He could still remember them, in a feast of Odin, back when he was five years old. They had come with a female baby, back then. Could that have been Erika? He went to sit beside her, staring at her half-covered from hair face. Expecting an answer.

"My father disappeared when I was an infant. I don't know how, he just did. A few days later, my mother stripped me off of my powers and left me in front of the door of a Midgardian couple. Which I grew up to call my parents. They never told me that I wasn't their biological child, neither they knew from where I had come from. When I was seven, I started having weird dreams, accompanied with unbearable pains in the heart and around the chest. In my dreams, I saw Nott though I couldn't hear much of what she was telling me. After a while I understood my true parentage, though she never told me why she had left me. The dreams stopped a month after. But the pain didn't. It just shorted to once every month. Last night was one of those times."

He examined her face curiously. She hadn't turn to look at him the entire time, like she couldn't bear to do so. "Why do you have those pains?"

He noticed her chest rising high, taking a deep breath and sighing. Her eyes turned from the buildings to her hands on her lap. "It's the powers I was stripped off of, returning to me. Though I can't control them or even feel them at all..."

Loki's eyebrows shot up. Her powers were returning to her...Normally, she should be able to control them... But why couldn't she? And why be stripped off of her powers, if she would be given them back? Looking at her face, he could understand that she herself didn't know.

"Anyway, I didn't bring you here to explain the story of my life." she said, shaking her thoughts out of her head, turning to him. "I wanted to show you that you aren't the only one with family issues. So you can't let off steam on others."

He frowned, his pride returning sharply. "You know nothing about me or my family. So you can't speak of it."

"Then talk to me!" she exclaimed, her hands shooting up in the air. "Why are you so angry every time I mention your family, especially your father?!"

His eyes narrowed, standing abruptly up. "I'm not going to share the story of my past with a mortal."

As he started walking back into the house, she shot up behind him. "I just told you everything and you are going to be that way?!"

He ignored her and kept walking. "Fine! Be that way! Jerk..." His eyes turning to see her having her back to him, head held high and arms crossed over her chest. He went behind the door, waiting for a moment. Erika's shoulders fell with a sigh, turning towards the now empty door with an almost sympathetic expression. How many obstacles and situations he had been through, to act like this every time he was remembered of his family? After a moment of staring at the door, she turned to the sky.

And the god left his hiding place with an affected expression on his face.

* * *

 **Well, that's it for now! Sorry for the long wait, I promise to be more quick the next time!**


	16. We forget everything about it

"So why should we forget his previous 'asshole' behavior?"

"Leah, were you even listening to what I was saying for the past five minutes?" Erika huffed, hands on her hips. Leah rolled her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I got the general idea. I heard that you told him about our parents, how they died, and he didn't even bother to tell you his own family tragedy. That doesn't actually help my impression of him being a jerk."

Erika rubbed irritably her temple. "He probably needs more time. It must be hard for him."

"It didn't seem that hard for him when he made fun of our mourning over our parents! Hell, he might even be out of this door right now, making fun of us!"

Loki almost shot back from the closed door. She was good, he would give her that. He was indeed hearing over their conversation, out of curiosity, but he wasn't making fun of them. On the contrary, he was very surprised and almost touched that Erika was trying to defend him. Almost.

"Plus, I don't understand since you had already told him about our parents, why you repeated yourself to him?" Erika shut her mouth at that. She had lied about her conversation with Loki, her sisters didn't know that she wasn't their biological sibling. She shook her head to avoid answering to that question.

"Look Leah, he is stubborn, I know, but think a little. He is from another world, he is a supposed god. His middle name is 'mischief and lies'! Maybe I should expect that he wouldn't open up to me that easily. But he is in pain, that much I know. What I'm saying is that, we should give him a second chance. Everybody deserves that, even him." Leah's shoulders fell when Erika finished talking, sighing so quietly that she barely heard it herself. Becky, who had been sitting cross-legged on the bed the whole time, unfolded her legs and went to tag on Erika's sleeve.

"I want to forgive him. He's actually good." she smiled shyly. Erika gave her a brighter smile, lifting her up for a tight hug. "Thank you sugar chops!"

Both girls turned their expectant eyes to the teenager, waiting for an answer. Leah stared back at them, groaning as her frustration started slipping away. She blinked once, unfolding her arms. She gave a small, sideways grin. "To be honest, he is a bit likeable..."

Erika smiled widely, crashing herself against Leah, trapping her in a tight embrace, the impact causing them to fall on the floor, a mess of laughing bodies, hugs and smiles.

Loki stepped away from the door, returning to the living room, in his spot on the couch. He was thinking, confused, mixed thoughts. Why were they so eager to be in good terms with him? No one ever wanted to be around him, they were avoiding him at all costs. The girls wanted something from him. There was no other explanation, he refused to believe that they wanted to be his company without something in return.

"Stuck daydreaming, Emerald Gaze?" Loki's head shot up, seeing Erika with her sisters looking at him with a small smirk playing on the corner of her lips. He hadn't heard them coming and for a moment, he considered the possibility of them sneaking up on him. He scoffed at her. "You are never going to forget this dump nickname, aren't you?

She smiled fully now, winking playfully at him. "Nope!"

Rolling his eyes in annoyance, he turned and picked up his book, starting reading again. Erika motioned to the girls to go sit on the other couch and she went to the training room to start fixing the place for them to sleep in later.

Leah sat beside Becky on the couch, picking her phone up and searching through the Internet for Norse mythology. Becky, on the other hand, placed her legs high on the back of the couch, her back on the seat and head hanging out of the edge of it, upside down. Looking at the ceiling, utterly bored, she started making a cute, yet annoying sound, every five seconds. "Badow...badow...badow..."

Loki's eyes looked up at her, starring oddly at the small cheerful girl. As if she had sensed him, she turned her eyes to his face, looking at him. After a good three seconds, she put on a smile and flipped on her stomach, talking in a sing-song voice. "Why you're looking at me, I'm not that weak, nor a fish for you to eat!"

His eyebrows shot up in surprise and confusion, starring at her as if she had just grown two heads. "What?"

Leah's face turned to see Loki's expression, not even thinking to hold back her giggling. "She says this every time she spots someone staring at her. When she learnt that we look into a fish's eyes to check it's quality, she simply adopted it."

He looked at her as if she were crazy. Though by the looks of it, she was right about it. He hadn't realized that he had been staring intensely at her, until he caught her face, staring back at him the exact same way as he did, right before Erika returned from the training room. She cocked an eyebrow at them, grinning at the sight. She knew something was up to Leah's mind, that teenager was always full of surprises. "What are you guys doing?"

"Staring. He wouldn't stop staring at me, so I'm staring back at him. Whoever blinks is the loser." Leah answered, without tearing her gaze from the god, earning a giggle from Erika.

Loki blinked, confused. "What...? What game is-"

Leah clapped her hands together, smiling brightly. "Aha! You lose!"

His eyebrows shot up in surprise, ignoring Erika's and Becky's stifled laughter. His eyes narrowed dangerously, glaring daggers at the teenager. "How dare you pitiful little-"

She shot her hands up in a surrender manner, smirking. "Whoa, easy there tiger! It was a simple game! Geez!"

Erika shook her head as she went to prepare lunch, leaving a giggling Becky, a smirking Leah and a glaring god in the living room. Leah pulled a small packet out of her jeans pocket and threw its contents in her palm. Popping the small white cube in her mouth, she chewed on it for a while, before a big bubble came out of her mouth.

Loki's eyes widened, just a little. "What kind of magic is this?"

She frowned, confusion written all over her face. "Oh, the bubble you mean? It's my chewing gum."

He blinked. "I beg your pardon?"

"My chewing gum." she took out another one, showing it to him. "See this little cube? You pop it in your mouth, chew on it for a while and then..." she chewed and after a few moments, another bubble came out of her mouth. Standing up, she walked over to him and sat on the couch's arm, offering the packet to him. "Wanna try some?"

He eyed the packet warily, then looked at Leah chewing her own gum, making a slightly disgusted face at last. "I would rather not."

She rolled her eyes at him, making another bubble. "Oh, come on! You don't know you dislike it, till you taste it!"

The deadpanned face he was giving her, made her groan in frustration. "Even Becky can do it and she is only six!"

Becky looked up at the mention of her name. Smiling brightly when she saw Leah motioning for her to come closer, she jumped and ran full speed on the couch, falling face first on the pillows next to Loki, giggling madly.

He cocked an eyebrow at her, watching as Leah gave her the 'chewing gum' and Becky made a tiny bubble after a while of chewing. His expression stayed unimpressed, though in reality, he was surprised to see that a small thing like her could do that trick too.

"Not interested." he mumbled, turning his attention back to his book. Leah scoffed, glaring at him. Slowly though, a mischievous smile crept up on her face, and she moved so she was sitting right next to his head. She gave a genuine wink at Becky. The little girl immediately caught the meaning and sat next to the other side of his head. Out of the blue, the two sisters started making bubbles, popping them with a loud noise.

Loki's eyes snapped away from the book, trying to contain his slowly raising anger. He glared at Leah who had a smug smile on her face, watching with clenching fists her mouth creating the annoying bubbles.

Pop. He gulped roughly. "Stop that mortals."

Pop. His jaw clenched.

Pop, pop, pop. His eyebrows knitted in anger, eyes sparkling. "You annoying, arrogant, mewling-"

He never got to finish his sentence, as Erika yelled from inside the kitchen. "Guys, lunch!"

The girls stopped immediately, smiling to each other. Batok and Jasira snapped their heads up, ears perked. Leah was the one to voice out their thoughts. "Lunch is ready!"

"Pounce on it!" Both girls yelled with excitement, jumping on the couch and stepping on Loki to pass towards the door, the hyenas following right after them. Loki huffed at the sudden weight, pulling the pillows that had been accidentally thrown to him, off of his face. He glared daggers at the kitchen door, huffing once again annoyed and shaking his head. Those mortals were infuriating! Glancing momentary at the packet of chewing gums on the table, he stuffed one of the little cubes in his pocket. He wanted to try it, he just wasn't going to do so in front of the teenager. He wouldn't give her that satisfaction. With that in mind, he too walked in the kitchen for some lunch.

* * *

 **I am very sorry for the long wait, I had lots of exams to do, and it took me all my free time! But, now I am back and I swear not to disappoint you!**


	17. Children make you a better person

_Bump._

Loki's eyes immediately snapped open, peering through the darkness of the living room. He had decided to sleep on the couch when he had found Batok taking an afternoon nap on his bed, right after he had been washed by Erika. He couldn't stand the smell of wet dog, or in this case wet hyena, on his bed sheets. Though now that he was thinking over it, had he known that the living room was noisy during the night, he would have gone to sleep in the bathroom.

The sound hadn't been too loud, but then, he was known for sleeping quite lightly. As his eyes searched the room from his spot on the couch, he managed to outline a small figure at the far corner of the room. Silently, he watched, careful not to move a muscle.

Becky tried to lift the chair she had bumped into, sniffing quietly, bottom lip quivering. Batok and Jasira had raised their heads from the corner they had been sleeping in, noticing her immediately. Rising from their seat, they slowly walked closer to her, sensing that something was wrong with her. Jasira placed her snout under Becky's belly, helping her to her feet, while Batok removed the chair with his mouth.

The six year-old sat on the floor with Jasira curled around her, wrapping her arms around the creature's neck and laying on its body. Batok glanced once at them, before moving to Erika's door, scratching lightly on it.

"Batok, what do you want at... 5 o'clock in the morning?" Erika mumbled sleepily when she opened the door. Batok whimpered slightly, pushing at her legs with his head to lead her. Erika let him guide her, and gasped softly when she saw Becky curled on Jasira, the hyena licking comfortingly the girl's face. "Becky...?"

The young girl looked up at her, sniffing with tiny tears forming in her eyes. "I had a bad dream..."

"Oh sweetie..." Erika cooed lovingly, scooping the silently crying girl in her arms off of the floor, and into her warm embrace. She felt Becky wrap her arms and legs around her neck and waist, hiding her face in her neck, her tears wetting her skin.

As she moved towards her bedroom, Becky mumbled in her ear. "Can we stay here?"

Erika sat on the couch opposit of Loki, Becky still in her arms. Batok and Jasira curled around each other on their corner, returning back to sleep. Erika kissed Becky's forehead, glancing once at the form of the god in her couch. "Okay, but we have to be quiet. We don't want to wake up the mighty God of Mischief, or he might transform us into worms."

Loki rolled his eyes in the darkness, while Becky gave a small giggle. She moved so she was sitting on Erika's lap, laying hr head on Erika's shoulder. The elder's hand whiped Becky's tears, smoothing her blonde hair behind her ears. "I saw those aliens from New York attacking our home...They killed us all, leaving me in the end."

The prince's breath caught in his throat. Eyes mercilessly tearing the darkness blocking his view, he forced his gaze to fall upon the sisters, examining their expressions. Erika was hugging Becky on her body, whispering soothing words to the trembling girl. Becky's face was full of fear, nervousness and sorrow. He knew she hadn't been there during the attack. Though she had clearly heard of it, maybe even seen it. Normally, he would be delighted that he had that effect on mortals, he had wanted them to fear him, to kneel before him and respect him as their king. That was what he had wanted from the beginning.

But seeing that girl. The girl who had been smiling warmly to him from the moment they had met, who had joked with him, admired him, even respected him. To see this innocent, little face plagued with fear and pain, with terrifying nightmares, trembling in Erika's arms... It caused something in his chest to twitch, a gulp forming in his throat. It couldn't be what he was thinking...It would, it could never be...guilt.

Erika looked down at Becky's fast asleep form. Slowly moving her arms so as not to wake her up, she lay her small body on the couch, covering her with a blanket. She kissed her forehead lovingly, walking in the kitchen to prepare breakfast.

Allowing Loki to slowly walk towards the other couch, towering above her now peacefully sleeping form. As he watched her small body moving by her steady breath, a frown crossed his face. He wasn't regretting what he did. He would never regret his actions. He didn't have to apologize to anyone, he didn't own them anything. He wouldn't let some mere mortals to get under his skin.

* * *

"Okay, I have the bag ready and Becky will come out any minute now. Are you done with the sandwitches?"asked Leah, popping her head in the kitchen.

"Yup, everything's ready!" Erika staffed a paperbag full of sandwiches in Leah's backpack, walking out of the kitchen. "Emerald Gaze, we're leaving!"

Loki raised his head, cocking an eyebrow while petting absent-mindedly Batok's head beside him. He stole a glance at her face. She had her hair in a high ponytail, which made her features stand out and showed her sparkling eyes even more. She had a beautiful face...

He mentaly slapped himself, shaking his head. You never thought such thing! Ever. "And why should this be of any interest for me?"

Erika gave a genuine smirk, raising both eyebrows in mock innocence. "Why, because you are coming along silly!"

He groaned, rubbing his temple with two fingers. He knew that arguing with her would gain him nothing, so what was the point in doing so? He put on sarcasm instead. "Please enlighten me then, as to where are we heading to?"

"We will go to the park!" smiled Becky, appearing in the doorway. "Erika goes there for jogging and we will play with Batok and Jasira!"

He rolled his eyes, putting on his disguise of the blonde man, dressed in a button up shirt, loose jeans and sneakers. "My enthusiasm cannot be described."

"Alright people, we're going, come on!" Erika clapped her hands, whistling for Batok and Jasira to follow. Each one of them went out the door, Loki staying behind to suppress a tired sigh. The things he needed to do, in order to have a shelter.

"Are you comming?" asked a timid voice, followed by a small tug at his jeans. Looking down, he saw Becky's eyes looking expectantly back at him. He exhaled through his nose. "Must you touch me, mortal's offspring?"

She titled her head to the side, confusion on her face. "What's an offspring? And a mortal?"

He rolled his eyes, exhaling deeply. "Forget it."

She raised her small arms up to him. "Can you give me a hug?"

A blink. Two. "No."

"Please?"

" I said no."

She dropped her arms, a bit of disappointment decorating her face, disappearing after a moment though. "Okay."

And then, she took hold of his finger, leading him out of the house. He stared down at her small hand holding his index finger. A part of him wanted to snatch it out of her reach, but another wanted to stay there, in her small soft hand, innocense, kindness and love radiating from this simple gesture of hers. The difference in hand size gave him a weird urge of protection towards the naive mortal child, like he had to ensure her safety.

"Took you long enough."smirked Leah when she saw them, hands in her jeans pockets, her back leaning against Erika's car. She picked Becky up, causing her to let go of Loki's finger, and settled her in the backseats. Becky glanced at Loki over her sister's shoulder. "I like your disguise, but I prefer how you normaly are. You are more beautiful when you are yourself."

He frowned. Had she just…..complimented him? "What?"

She smiled. "You are prettier with the black hair and the weird clothing! And I really like your eyes!"

"I'll agree with that." Leah interjected, turning to Loki. "You are better with the alien clothing of 19th century, the black girly hair and generally your true image than in disguise."

The girls didn't wait for an answer, entering the car and closing the door behind them. Loki got in the passenger's seat, a smirk on his face that showed both arrogance and contentement. As the car started moving, his smirk slowly turned into a frown, reaching up to touch his now short hair. Erika hold back a chuckle when she heard him mumble. "I don't have girly hair."

* * *

Erika parked the car just outside of the park's entrance, Batok and Jasira jumping happily out of the car and waiting fir the others with swinging tails.

Erika helped a giggling Becky out of the car, Leah picking the backpack and walking over to the hyenas, who were barking with anticipation. She sighed with content. " Okay girls, and Loki." The prince rolled his eyes. " I will go for a jog around the park, you can keep company to Batok and Jasira. I'll meet you under that tree over there."

Loki glanced around at the spacious park. There were a few couples taking their walk in the open green field, some of them settling down under the shades of the few trees around.

"Come on Loki!" Leah called out as she strode in the park with the two hyenas bouncing beside her. Becky went over to him with a smile, picking his finger again and taking him in the park. Was something wrong with this girl? How could anyone feel so at ease in his presence? She hadn't known him for at least two days!

They had reached Leah, when she finally let go. He decided to settle down, under a tree with his book, while Leah was throwing a tennis ball for Batok to catch and Becky was giggling while Jasira was chasing after her. His eyes shot up when Becky squealed loudly, Jasira pinning her to the ground and licking madly at her laughing face.

His own face wrinkled in disgust, his eyes moving to Leah. She had a good hand, he would give her credit fir that. She threw the ball again, Batok running full speed after it, a small cloud of dust being lift by his legs. And then, he spotted Erika. She was running surprisingly fast, her slightly flashed cheeks showing evidence that she had run at least four times the whole park.

"Hi!" Becky sat close to him, Jasira laying on his other side. Great, just what he needed.

"What do you want offspring?"he asked in annoyance, scratching Jasira's ears. She looked at him in confusion.

"My name is Becky. And I thought you were lonely, so I came over to keep you company."she smiled.

He hold back a small smile. "Can't you just go and keep playing that pathetic game of yours with the creature?"

She shook her head. "Jasira got a bit tired like me. It's not good to be alone. When my friend from school is ill she doesn't come and I am staying alone till Erika comes to pick me up. Do you stay alone when your friends are ill?"

He cocked his eyebrow, a hint of sadness in his voice. "I don't have friends."

Her eyes widened, gasping. "Not a single one? Why? You are very nice!"

He frowned. Then, out of a sudden, she hugged his arm tightly, squeezing her cheek against his shoulder. "I'm sorry. But then, I can be your first friend!"

Loki's eyebrows shot up, staring at her. She looked up at him, her smile reaching her eyes. He narrowed his eyes at her. "Why are you doing this?"

She didn't even flinch at his hissing. "Because I want to be your friend!"

And just like that, she scooped herself closer, burrying her face in his arm. He had to blink a lot of times to regain his composture from the surprise. The thought of her being so content and willing to become his friend sounded ridiculous, stupid beyond belief, naive. Or maybe it was something entirely different, and he was just using the wrong words to describe it. He glanced at Jasira. "What do you think of that, creature?"

Her reaction was a small groan, before settling her chin on his lap, relaxing into his soft petting. He exhaled, looking up to see Erika approaching. "Hey guys! Time for a sandwitch break!"

Leah came over with her backpack, handing each one of them a sandwitch, even to Loki, while feeding the hyenas some dog biscuits. Loki ate his food cautiously, before theu were ready to leave. As Erika and Leah walked ahead, Becky stood beside him, holding his middle finger.

The same strange feeling like before spread from her soft touch, and the only thing he could put his finger on was that what he was feeling was mixed happiness, safety, sweetness and protection. His fingers slowly, hesitantly curled around her tiny hand, a God now holding hands with a mortal child. It felt weird and nice at the same time, like when you had a younger sister to care about and she was there to love you in return. He felt his guard falling, the barriers slowly lowering themselves and his thumb started to trance circles on the back of her hand.

She looked up at him with a wide smile on her face, full of affection and joy. They reached the car and he let go of her, only to lift her up and get her in the backseat of the car. She giggled, holding onto his hands before he settled her down.

During the ride back home, Loki could feel Erika's eyes watching him while driving. He could feel her smiling. She had seen everything….

* * *

"Jasira, hold still!" Becky giggled as she tried to catch thw hyena who was jumping away from her playfuly. Erika and Leah had gone into the kitchen, leaving Loki and Becky in the living room.

He raised his eyes from his book when she squealed loudly, laying beneath Jasira and laughing her lugs out while she was licking her. He couldn't go back a faint smile that crossed his face at the sight of the laughing girl.

She finally managed to escape Jasira and went to sit beside Loki, grinning at him. "Can you tell me how it is to be a god? Is it fun?!"

He stared at her for a moment, contemplating what he should do. He took in a breath. "Being a god….has advantages and disavantages."

When she nodded eagerly, he continued. "Asgard is the home of the gods, living within its golden palace. Odin is….the Allfather, king of Asgard. Frigga is the queen and my-….brother, Thor, is the god of Thunder. He posses the power of the legendary hammer which only the worthy can lift, Mjolnir."he said scoffing at some points of his story.

Becky titled her head. "Can you lift it?"

"….No."

She raised her arms up for a hug. He reluctantly picked her up, placing her on his lap. Her arms wrapped themselves around his neck in a tiny hug, making him stiffen. "It's okay. Your scepter is better than a hammer anyway."

The corners of his mouth curled upwards at her cute, foolish innocense, slowly wrapping her small body in a warm embrance. Her arms instictively hugged tighter before they slowly pulled away, though she was still sitting on his lap. "Tell me more. Who else lives there?"

Her shining with excitement eyes made him chuckle. "There are also the Warriors Three and Lady Sif, Thor's friends."

"Is it true that Volstagg has a belly that can fit me whole inside him?!"

Loki's head fell backwards, his body shaking with laughter. A few moments after, he looked down at her, chuckling. "It's not impossible…"

She smiled, laying her head on his chest, her eyes locked on his face. "Tell me more!"

He grinned, pulling a hand around her body, pushing a piece of hair out of her face. "Well, Thor and I were raised as brothers in Asgard. Thor was Odin's favourite. So when Thor grew older, Odin gave him Mjolnir was ready to give him the throne…leaving me with nothing."

When he posed, she laid her hands on his chest in an attempt to hug him. "So I brought three Frost Giants in Asgard, a race of monsters, to ruin Thor's coronation. My brother was filled with rage and took us to Johtunheim to kill the Frost Giants. My first intention was to prove to Odin that Thor was not suitable to be king, but this was a complete madness. For his actions, Odin banished him to Midgard, your planet, where he fell in love with a pathetic mortal named Jane. I never wanted him to be banished, but I could do nothing about it. I had the throne to myself. To ensure that I would stay like this, I sent the Destroyer to kill Thor, so he would never come back. I wouldn't feel remorse, as I had just found out that he was never my brother. I was adopted… Unfortunately, my plan failed. I went to the Bifrost and tried to destroy my original homeland, Johtunheim myself. Thor fought me and smashed the Bifrost to pieces, tossing me into an abyss."

A little yawn caused his eyes to look down at her. She was curled up against his chest, her eyes half-closed. He could tell she was trying to stay awake. "And how did you come here with those aliens?"

He felt like he had just being slapped across the face with Thor's hammer. She, and probably her sisters as well, had known who he was from the beginning. Yet, they were so…comfortable around him. Hiw was this even the slightest bit logical? "It's…a long story. Aren't you scared of me?"

She shook her head.

"But you know who I am."

She nodded.

He frowned. "Then why are you so nice with me?"

"Erika always says, 'Don't judge others by how they look like, what they've done or how they act. You must see the whole image of them, including their past to understand how they ended up being.'" She yawned slightly. " And you just proved her right. You didn't attack my home because you are a bad person, but you acted like one because you are sad and pained from what you have been through."

The words were so wise and logical, full of understandment and care, that he was surprised to have heard them coming from the mouth of a six year old girl. A Midgardian girl, nonetheless. A warm feeling spread over his chest, a sensation which he had felt only with Frigga. Her steady breaths and the rise and fall of her small frame were radiating a peacefulness he hadn't felt in a long time.

Looking down, he realized the small thing had fallen asleep on his chest. Without thinking what he was doing, he picked Becky up in his arms and made his way to the training room, gently settling her in the bed and tucking her in.

She made a muffled sound, like trying to speak through her dream, but Loki mamaged to hear her."Will you tell me the rest of the story tomorrow ?"

He let a small smile to graze his face, whispering softly above her head. "Of course I will. But now you have to sleep."

She shifted a little, making herself comfortable. "Goodnight Loki."

He slowly bent over her, towards her forehead. Just when his lips were almost touching her skin, he pulled back with a scoff, realizing what he was doing. He walked to the door, glancing back at her for a moment. A long lost memory of Frigga flashed in his head. When she would come to his chambers and kiss his forehead for goodnight.

With three long steps he was back at her bedside, pressing a soft kiss on her forehead. "Goodnight Becky."

He made his way to his room. Failing to notice Erika smiling in the kitchen's doorway and exchanging looks with her hyenas.

* * *

 **I am so so sorry for the long wait! It won't happen again! Review people! Here are the links to their outfits.**

 **Erika:** **erika_chapter_17/set?id=225627123**

 **Leah:** **leah_chapter_17/set?id=225627394**

 **Becky:** **cgi/set?id=225627684**


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